The Märkische Museum Railway ( German : Märkische Museums-Eisenbahn ) or MME is a German railway society that was founded in order to show narrow gauge vehicles in operation on small branch lines .
69-581: Found on 14 July 1982 at Plettenberg , the society used the opportunity to buy vehicles, that had formerly worked in the Sauerland , from the Juist and Spiekerooge island railways which had just closed. The priority for their collection is the following railways: In Plettenberg the society could take over the remaining trackage from the PKB and set up a temporary workshop in an old boiler house in order to restore
138-483: A wagonway . The society found a suitable site for the establishment of its 1,000 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in ) museum railway on the trackbed of the Plettenberg–Herscheid railway between Hüinghausen station and Köbbinghausen halt (formerly timetable route ( Kursbuchstrecke or KBS ) no. 239k, which had closed in 1969 and been subsequently dismantled. Operations are carried out under
207-612: A Wendish offensive, towns from Prussia and the Netherlands, and eventually joined by Wendish towns, allied in the Confederation of Cologne in 1368, sacked Copenhagen and Helsingborg , and forced Valdemar IV, King of Denmark , and his son-in-law Haakon VI, King of Norway , to grant tax exemptions and influence over Øresund fortresses for 15 years in the peace treaty of Stralsund in 1370. It extended privileges in Scania to
276-593: A consortium of 7 Hanseatic cities, and enjoyed full Hanseatic trading privileges. It went to Margaret in 1398. The Victual Brothers controlled Gotland in 1398. It was conquered by the Teutonic Order with support from the Prussian towns and its privileges were restored. The grandmaster of the Teutonic Order was often seen as the head of the Hanse ( caput Hansae ), both abroad and by some League members. Over
345-454: A date of foundation. Historians traditionally traced its origins to the rebuilding of the north German town of Lübeck in 1159 by the powerful Henry the Lion , Duke of Saxony and Bavaria , after he had captured the area from Adolf II , Count of Schauenburg and Holstein . More recent scholarship has deemphasized Lübeck, viewing it as one of several regional trading centers, and presenting
414-455: A representative merchant and warehouse. Often they were not permanently manned. In Scania , Denmark, around 30 Hanseatic seasonal factories produced salted herring, these were called vitten and were granted legal autonomy to the extent that Burkhardt argues that they resembled a fifth kontor and would be seen as such if not for their early decline. In England, factories in Boston (the outpost
483-615: A treaty with the Visby Hansa, northern German merchants made regular stops at Gotland. In the first half of the 13th century, they established their own trading station or Kontor in Novgorod, known as the Peterhof , up the river Volkhov . Lübeck soon became a base for merchants from Saxony and Westphalia trading eastward and northward; for them, because of its shorter and easier access route and better legal protections, it
552-533: A variety of vessel types for shipping across the seas and navigating rivers. The most emblematic type was the cog . Expressing diversity in construction, it was depicted on Hanseatic seals and coats of arms. By the end of the Middle Ages, the cog was replaced by types like the hulk , which later gave way to larger carvel ships. Hanse is the Old High German word for a band or troop. This word
621-642: The Burgundian State . The city of Lübeck faced financial troubles in 1403, leading dissenting craftsmen to establish a supervising committee in 1405. This triggered a governmental crisis in 1408 when the committee rebelled and established a new town council. Similar revolts broke out in Wismar and Rostock, with new town councils established in 1410. The crisis was ended in 1418 by a compromise. Eric of Pomerania succeeded Margaret in 1412 and sought to expand into Schleswig and Holstein levying tolls at
690-605: The Griffin dukes of Pomerania were in constant conflict over control of the Pomeranian Hanseatic towns. While not successful at first, Bogislav X eventually subjugated Stettin and Köslin , curtailing the region's economy and independence. A major Hansa economic advantage was its control of the shipbuilding market, mainly in Lübeck and Danzig. The League sold ships throughout Europe. The economic crises of
759-880: The Kingdom of Poland , (from 1466 to 1569 referred to as Royal Prussia , region of Poland) by the Second Peace of Thorn . Poland in turn was heavily supported by the Holy Roman Empire through family connections and by military assistance under the Habsburgs . Kraków , then the Polish capital, had a loose association with the Hansa. The lack of customs borders on the River Vistula after 1466 helped to gradually increase Polish grain exports, transported down
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#1732791403960828-513: The Kontor of Bruges , became significant enclaves . The London Kontor , the Steelyard , stood west of London Bridge near Upper Thames Street , on the site later occupied by Cannon Street station . It grew into a walled community with its warehouses, weigh house , church, offices, and homes. In addition to the major Kontors , individual ports with Hanseatic trading outposts or factories had
897-521: The Peterhof from 1443 to 1448. After extended conflicts with the League from the 1370s, English traders gained trade privileges in the Prussian region via the treaties of Marienburg (the first in 1388, the last in 1409). Their influence increased, while the importance of Hanseatic trade in England decreased over the 15th century. Over the 15th century, tensions between the Prussian region and
966-774: The Scania Market ; Cologne joined them in the Diet of 1260. The towns raised their armies, with each guild required to provide levies when needed. The Hanseatic cities aided one another, and commercial ships often served to carry soldiers and their arms. The network of alliances grew to include a flexible roster of 70 to 170 cities. In the West, cities of the Rhineland such as Cologne enjoyed trading privileges in Flanders and England. In 1266, King Henry III of England granted
1035-457: The Vistula , from 10,000 short tons (9,100 t) per year, in the late 15th century, to over 200,000 short tons (180,000 t) in the 17th century. The Hansa-dominated maritime grain trade made Poland one of the main areas of its activity, helping Danzig to become the Hansa's largest city. Polish kings soon began to reduce the towns' political freedoms. Beginning in the mid-15th century,
1104-837: The Yorkist side during the Wars of the Roses of 1455–1487. Tsar Ivan III of Russia closed the Hanseatic Kontor at Novgorod in 1494 and deported its merchants to Moscow, in an attempt to reduce Hanseatic influence on Russian trade. At the time, only 49 traders were at the Peterhof. The fur trade was redirected to Leipzig, taking out the Hansards; while the Hanseatic trade with Russia moved to Riga, Reval, and Pleskau. When
1173-664: The "Wendish" cities (Lübeck and its eastern neighbours) increased. Lübeck was dependent on its role as center of the Hansa; Prussia's main interest, on the other hand, was the export of bulk products such as grain and timber to England, the Low Countries and later on Spain and Italy. Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg , tried to assert authority over the Hanseatic towns Berlin and Cölln in 1442 and blocked all Brandenburg towns from participating in Hanseatic diets. For some Brandenburg towns, this ended their Hanseatic involvement. In 1488, John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg did
1242-553: The 1380s, the League regained its trade privileges in 1392, agreeing to Russian trade privileges for Livonia and Gotland. In 1424, all German traders of the Petershof kontor in Novgorod were imprisoned and 36 of them died. Although rare, arrests and seizures in Novgorod were particularly violent. In response, and due to the ongoing war between Novgorod and the Livonian Order , the League blockaded Novgorod and abandoned
1311-519: The 15th century, the League became further institutionalized. This was in part a response to challenges in governance and competition with rivals, but also reflected changes in trade. A slow shift occurred from loose participation to formal recognition/revocation. Another general trend was Hanseatic cities' increased legislation of their kontors abroad. Only the Bergen kontor grew more independent in this period. In Novgorod, after extended conflict since
1380-651: The Baltic. Although the blockade of the grain trade hurt Holland and Zeeland more than Hanseatic cities, it was against Prussian interest to maintain it. In 1454, the year of the marriage of Elisabeth of Austria to King-Grand Duke Casimir IV Jagiellon of Poland-Lithuania , the towns of the Prussian Confederation rose up against the dominance of the Teutonic Order and asked Casimir IV for help. Gdańsk (Danzig), Thorn and Elbing became part of
1449-713: The Carpathians were another important source of copper and iron, often sold in Thorn . Lubeck had a vital role in the salt trade; salt was acquired in Lüneburg or shipped from France and Portugal and sold on Central European markets, taken to Scania to salt herring, or exported to Russia. Stockfish was traded from Bergen in exchange for grain; Hanseatic grain inflows allowed more permanent settlements further north in Norway. The league also traded beer, with beer from Hanseatic towns
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#17327914039601518-507: The Danish dominion, as had Hamburg in 1189. Also in this period Wismar, Rostock, Stralsund, and Danzig received city charters. Hansa societies worked to remove trade restrictions for their members. The earliest documentary mention (although without a name) of a specific German commercial federation dates between 1173 and 1175 (commonly misdated to 1157) in London. That year, the merchants of
1587-611: The German and Scandinavian coasts, making it the best-lighted coast in the world, largely thanks to the Hansa. The weakening of imperial power and imperial protection under the late Hohenstaufen dynasty forced the League to institutionalize a cooperating network of cities with a fluid structure, called the Städtehanse , but it never became a formal organization and the Kaufmannshanse continued to exist. This development
1656-512: The Hansa in Cologne convinced King Henry II of England to exempt them from all tolls in London and to grant protection to merchants and goods throughout England. German colonists in the 12th and 13th centuries settled in numerous cities on and near the east Baltic coast, such as Elbing ( Elbląg ), Thorn ( Toruń ), Reval ( Tallinn ), Riga , and Dorpat ( Tartu ), all of which joined the League, and some of which retain Hansa buildings and bear
1725-587: The Hanseatic League remained a loosely aligned confederation of city-states . It lacked a permanent administrative body, a treasury, and a standing military force. In the 14th century, the Hanseatic League instated an irregular negotiating diet that operated based on deliberation and consensus . By the mid-16th century, these weak connections left the Hanseatic League vulnerable, and it gradually unraveled as members merged into other realms or departed, ultimately disintegrating in 1669. The League used
1794-603: The Hanseatic network of merchant guilds. The dominant language of trade was Middle Low German , which had a significant impact on the languages spoken in the area, particularly the larger Scandinavian languages , Estonian , and Latvian . Visby , on the island of Gotland, functioned as the leading center in the Baltic before the Hansa. Sailing east, Visby merchants established a trading post at Novgorod called Gutagard (also known as Gotenhof ) in 1080. In 1120, Gotland gained autonomy from Sweden and admitted traders from its southern and western regions. Thereafter, under
1863-463: The League as the combination of a north German trading system oriented on the Baltic and a Rhinelandic trading system targeting England and Flanders. German cities speedily dominated trade in the Baltic during the 13th century, and Lübeck became a central node in the seaborne trade that linked the areas around the North and Baltic seas . Lübeck hegemony peaked during the 15th century. Well before
1932-592: The League's power and tried to diminish it. For example, in London, local merchants exerted continuing pressure for the revocation of privileges. Most foreign cities confined Hanseatic traders to specific trading areas and their trading posts. The refusal of the Hansa to offer reciprocal arrangements to their counterparts exacerbated the tension. League merchants used their economic power to pressure cities and rulers. They called embargoes, redirected trade away from towns, and boycotted entire countries. Blockades were erected against Novgorod in 1268 and 1277/1278. Bruges
2001-451: The League, including Holland and Zeeland. The treaty marked the height of Hanseatic influence; for this period the League was called a "Northern European great power ". The Confederation lasted until 1385, while the Øresund fortresses were returned to Denmark that year. After Valdemar's heir Olav died, a succession dispute erupted over Denmark and Norway between Albert of Mecklenburg, King of Sweden and Margaret I, Queen of Denmark . This
2070-514: The League. Over the 13th century, older and wealthier long-distance traders increasingly chose to settle in their hometowns as trade leaders, transitioning from their previous roles as landowners. The growing number of settled merchants afforded long-distance traders greater influence over town policies. Coupled with an increased presence in the ministerial class , this elevated the status of merchants and enabled them to expand to and assert dominance over more cities. This decentralized arrangement
2139-783: The Lübeck and Hamburg Hansa a charter for operations in England , initially causing competition with the Westphalians. But the Cologne Hansa and the Wendish Hansa joined in 1282 to form the Hanseatic colony in London, although they didn't completely merge until the 15th century. Novgorod was blockaded in 1268 and 1277/1278. Nonetheless, Westphalian traders continued to dominate trade in London and also Ipswich and Colchester , while Baltic and Wendish traders concentrated between King's Lynn and Newcastle upon Tyne . Much of
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2208-465: The cottage industry occurred in other fields, e.g. etching, wood carving, armor production, engraving of metals, and wood-turning . The league primarily traded beeswax, furs, timber, resin (or tar), flax, honey, wheat, and rye from the east to Flanders and England with cloth, in particular broadcloth , (and, increasingly, manufactured goods ) going in the other direction. Metal ore (principally copper and iron) and herring came south from Sweden, while
2277-421: The drive for cooperation came from the fragmented nature of existing territorial governments, which did not provide security for trade. Over the next 50 years, the merchant Hansa solidified with formal agreements for co-operation covering the west and east trade routes . Cities from the east modern-day Low Countries, but also Utrecht, Holland, Zealand, Brabant, Namur, and modern Limburg joined in participation over
2346-463: The first written proof of Plettenberg was made in a document from Grafschaft Abbey of Anno II, archbishop of Cologne , at that time named Heslipho . The name was later changed to Plettenberg, as the name of the noble family von Plettenberg , who owned virtually all of the town and surrounding lands. The Dukes of the Mark bought the town from Cologne, who in 1301 built the castle Schwarzenberg (which
2415-474: The late 15th century did not spare the Hansa. Nevertheless, its eventual rivals emerged in the form of territorial states . New vehicles of credit were imported from Italy. When Flanders and Holland became part of the Duchy of Burgundy , Burgund Dutch and Prussian cities increasingly excluded Lübeck from their grain trade in the 15th and 16th century. Burgund Dutch demand for Prussian and Livonian grain grew in
2484-677: The late 15th century onwards. Nuremberg in Franconia developed an overland route to sell formerly Hansa-monopolised products from Frankfurt via Nuremberg and Leipzig to Poland and Russia, trading Flemish cloth and French wine in exchange for grain and furs from the east. The Hansa profited from the Nuremberg trade by allowing Nurembergers to settle in Hanseatic towns, which the Franconians exploited by taking over trade with Sweden as well. The Nuremberger merchant Albrecht Moldenhauer
2553-417: The late 15th century. These trade interests differed from Wendish interests, threatening political unity, but also showed a trade where the Hanseatic system was impractical. Hollandish freight costs were much lower than the Hansa's, and the Hansa were excluded as middlemen. After naval wars between Burgundy and the Hanseatic fleets, Amsterdam gained the position of leading port for Polish and Baltic grain from
2622-522: The masters of Ohle. Also designed by Otto Hupp it was granted on July 13, 1936. The coat of arms of the municipality of Ohle shows the Saint Martin of Tours splitting his cloak to share with the beggar. Saint Martin is the patron saint of the church of Ohle. A small escutcheon is placed next to the Saint, showing a red shell on a yellow background, the symbol of the masters of Ohle. The coat of arms
2691-630: The most valued, and Wendish cities like Lübeck, Hamburg, Wismar, and Rostock developed export breweries for hopped beer. The Hanseatic League, at first the merchant hansas and eventually its cities, relied on power to secure protection and gain and preserve privileges. Bandits and pirates were persistent problems; during wars, these could be joined by privateers . Traders could be arrested abroad and their goods could be confiscated. The league sought to codify protection; internal treaties established mutual defense and external treaties codified privileges. Many locals, merchant and noble alike, envied
2760-476: The municipality of Plettenberg-Land showed a silver-blue shield split vertically, the symbol of the master of Plettenberg. It is overlaid with the red-and-white chequered bar of the Mark. The coat of arms was designed by Otto Hupp , and was granted on January 16, 1935. The coat of arms of the Amt Plettenberg was very similar, it only had an additional red shell in the top-left-hand corner as the symbol of
2829-614: The name of the Sauerland Light Railway ( Sauerländer Kleinbahn ). 51°11′21″N 07°48′30″E / 51.18917°N 7.80833°E / 51.18917; 7.80833 Plettenberg Plettenberg ( German: [ˈplɛtn̩ˌbɛʁk] ; Westphalian : Plettmert ) is a town in the Märkischer Kreis , in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany . Plettenberg is located to
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2898-634: The north and east, to the Netherlands in the west, and extended inland as far as Cologne , the Prussian regions and Kraków , Poland . The League began as a collection of loosely associated groups of German traders and towns aiming to expand their commercial interests, including protection against robbery. Over time, these arrangements evolved into the League, offering traders toll privileges and protection on affiliated territory and trade routes. Economic interdependence and familial connections among merchant families led to deeper political integration and
2967-545: The recesses; representatives would sometimes leave the Diet prematurely to give their towns an excuse not to ratify decisions. Only a few Hanseatic cities were free imperial cities or enjoyed comparable autonomy and liberties, but many temporarily escaped domination by local nobility. Between 1361 and 1370, League members fought against Denmark in the Danish-Hanseatic War . Though initially unsuccessful with
3036-940: The reduction of trade barriers. This gradual process involved standardizing trade regulations among Hanseatic Cities. During its time, the Hanseatic League dominated maritime trade in the North and Baltic Seas . It established a network of trading posts in numerous towns and cities, notably the Kontors in London (known as the Steelyard ), Bruges , Bergen , and Novgorod , which became extraterritorial entities that enjoyed considerable legal autonomy. Hanseatic merchants, commonly referred to as Hansards, operated private companies and were known for their access to commodities, and enjoyed privileges and protections abroad. The League's economic power enabled it to impose blockades and even wage war against kingdoms and principalities. Even at its peak,
3105-491: The same to Stendal and Salzwedel in the Altmark . Until 1394, Holland and Zeeland actively participated in the Hansa, but in 1395, their feudal obligations to Albert I, Duke of Bavaria prevented further cooperation. Consequently, their Hanseatic ties weakened, and their economic focus shifted. Between 1417 and 1432, this economic reorientation became even more pronounced as Holland and Zeeland gradually became part of
3174-457: The sea and many were linked to partners by river trade or even land trade. These formed an integrated network, while many smaller Hanseatic towns had their main trading activity in subregional trade. Internal Hanseatic trade was the Hanse's quantitatively largest and most important business. Trade over rivers and land was not tied to specific Hanseatic privileges, but seaports such as Bremen , Hamburg and Riga dominated trade on their rivers. This
3243-515: The style of their Hanseatic days. Most adopted Lübeck law , after the league's most prominent town. The law provided that they appeal in all legal matters to Lübeck's city council. Others, like Danzig from 1295 onwards, had Magdeburg law or its derivative, Culm law . Later, the Livonian Confederation of 1435 to c. 1582 incorporated modern-day Estonia and parts of Latvia ; all of its major towns were members of
3312-400: The surrounding Amt were merged. The number of inhabitants till 1933 is the core town, since 1998 with the incorporated districts. Plettenberg is twinned with: The coat of arms shows the coat of arms of the counts of Mark in the center. It is displayed between two towers. The coat of arms was granted together with the town rights. In 1794, the crown atop the shield was added in seals of
3381-548: The term Hanse appeared in a document in 1267, in different cities began to form guilds , or hansas , with the intention of trading with overseas towns, especially in the economically less-developed eastern Baltic. This area could supply timber, wax , amber , resins , and furs, along with rye and wheat brought on barges from the hinterland to port markets. Merchant guilds formed in hometowns and destination ports as medieval corporations ( universitates mercatorum ), and despite competition increasingly cooperated to coalesce into
3450-527: The thirteenth century. This network of Hanseatic trading guilds became called the Kaufmannshanse in historiography. The League succeeded in establishing additional Kontors in Bruges ( Flanders ), Bryggen in Bergen (Norway), and London (England) beside the Peterhof in Novgorod. These trading posts were institutionalised by the first half of the 14th century (for Bergen and Bruges) and, except for
3519-531: The town. In 1840, the colored version on a shield was adopted. In 1912, the town council agreed on the historical coat of arms, but the Königliche Heroldsamt in Berlin, which was responsible for the official approval, denied it - at that time the coat of arms of cities were supposed to be crowned by a town wall. However the town council did not want to repeat the symbols (town wall and crown) which
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#17327914039603588-524: The traders' hometowns. Outposts in Lisbon , Bordeaux , Bourgneuf , La Rochelle and Nantes offered the cheaper Bay salt. Ships that plied this trade sailed in the salt fleet . Trading posts operated in Flanders, Denmark-Norway, the Baltic interior, Upper Germany, Iceland, and Venice. Hanseatic trade was not exclusively maritime, or even over water. Most Hanseatic towns did not have immediate access to
3657-536: The vehicles acquired. In the margins, relicts of the Ruhr-Lippe-Eisenbahn (RLE) and a host of narrow gauge industrial railway were able to be salvaged, including for example the historically interesting Harkort Coal Railway ,which was founded by the industrial pioneer, Friedrich Harkort , and went into service in 1830 – no less than five years before the Nuremberg–Fürth railway – albeit initially as
3726-486: The west of the Sauerland hills. The highest elevation of the town area is in the Ebbe Mountains with 663 m above sea level , the lowest elevation with 194 m near Teindeln [ de ] . The town is spread out between the four valleys of the rivers Lenne , Else , Oester [ arz ; ceb ; cv ; de ; zh ] and Grüne [ ceb ] . Plettenberg consists of 5 districts: Probably
3795-619: The Øresund toll, which caused tensions with Holland and Zeeland . The Sound tolls, and a later attempt of Lübeck to exclude the English and Dutch merchants from Scania harmed the Scanian herring trade when the excluded regions began to develop their own herring industries. In the Dutch–Hanseatic War (1438–1441), a privateer war mostly waged by Wendish towns, the merchants of Amsterdam sought and eventually won free access to
3864-429: The Øresund. Hanseatic cities were divided initially; Lübeck tried to appease Eric while Hamburg supported the Schauenburg counts against him. This led to the Danish-Hanseatic War (1426-1435) and the Bombardment of Copenhagen (1428). The Treaty of Vordingborg renewed the League's commercial privileges in 1435, but the Øresund tolls continued. Eric of Pomerania was subsequently deposed and in 1438 Lübeck took control of
3933-406: Was a major Rus trade centre . Scandinavians led the Baltic trade before the League, establishing major trading hubs at Birka , Haithabu , and Schleswig by the 9th century CE. The later Hanseatic ports between Mecklenburg and Königsberg (present-day Kaliningrad ) originally formed part of the Scandinavian-led Baltic trade system. The Hanseatic League was never formally founded, so it lacks
4002-411: Was already present in the coat of arms, thus the coat of arms was not officially granted. After Plettenberg merged with the municipalities of Plettenberg-Land and Ohle in 1940, the council had to decide on the coat of arms again. This time it was officially granted on September 28, 1942, however provisionally due to the war. Yet after the lost war, the coat of arms was never revoked. The coat of arms of
4071-467: Was also called Stalhof), Bristol , Bishop's Lynn (later King's Lynn , which featured the sole remaining Hanseatic warehouse in England), Hull , Ipswich , Newcastle upon Tyne , Norwich , Scarborough , Yarmouth (now Great Yarmouth ), and York , many of which were important for the Baltic trade and became centers of the textile industry in the late 14th century. Hansards and textile manufacturers coordinated to make fabrics meet local demand and fashion in
4140-482: Was also designed by Otto Hupp, and was granted on October 17, 1935. Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German towns in the late 12th century, the League expanded between the 13th and 15th centuries and ultimately encompassed nearly 200 settlements across eight modern-day countries, ranging from Estonia in
4209-402: Was applied to bands of merchants traveling between the Hanseatic cities. Hanse in Middle Low German came to mean a society of merchants or a trader guild. Claims that it originally meant An-See , or "on the sea", are incorrect. Exploratory trading ventures, raids, and piracy occurred throughout the Baltic Sea. The sailors of Gotland sailed up rivers as far away as Novgorod , which
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#17327914039604278-492: Was delayed by the conquest of Wendish cities by the Danish king Eric VI Menved or by their feudal overlords between 1306 and 1319 and the restriction of their autonomy. Assemblies of the Hanse towns met irregularly in Lübeck for a Hansetag [ de ] (Hanseatic Diet) – starting either around 1300, or possibly 1356. Many towns chose not to attend nor to send representatives, and decisions were not binding on individual cities if their delegates were not included in
4347-415: Was destroyed by fire in 1864). In 1387, Count Engelbert III granted the town some privileges, it received full town rights in 1397 from Count Dietrich von der Mark. At the same time, the town was fortified. The town blossomed in the following centuries thanks to mining and iron casting, as well as trading with the Hanseatic League . In 1941, the town was enlarged to its current size, when the former town and
4416-414: Was fostered by slow travel speeds: moving from Reval to Lübeck took between 4 weeks and, in winter, 4 months. In 1241, Lübeck, which had access to the Baltic and North seas' fishing grounds, formed an alliance—a precursor to the League—with the trade city of Hamburg, which controlled access to the salt-trade routes from Lüneburg . These cities gained control over most of the salt-fish trade, especially
4485-399: Was further complicated when Swedish nobles rebelled against Albert and invited Margaret. Albert was taken prisoner in 1389, but hired privateers in 1392, the socalled Victual Brothers , who took Bornholm and Visby in his name. They and their descendants threatened maritime trade between 1392 and the 1430s. Under the 1395 release agreement for Albert, Stockholm was ruled from 1395 to 1398 by
4554-405: Was influential in developing the trade with Sweden and Norway, and his sons Wolf and Burghard Moldenhauer established themselves in Bergen and Stockholm, becoming leaders of the local Hanseatic activities. King Edward IV of England reconfirmed the league's privileges in the Treaty of Utrecht despite the latent hostility, in part thanks to the significant financial contribution the League made to
4623-421: Was more attractive than Schleswig . It became a transshipment port for trade between the North Sea and the Baltics. Lübeck also granted extensive trade privileges to Russian and Scandinavian traders. It was the main supply port for the Northern Crusades , improving its standing with various Popes. Lübeck gained imperial privileges to become a free imperial city in 1226, under Valdemar II of Denmark during
4692-477: Was not possible for the Rhine where trade retained an open character. Digging canals for trade was uncommon, although the Stecknitz Canal was built between Lübeck and Lauenburg from 1391 to 1398. Starting with trade in coarse woolen fabrics, the Hanseatic League increased both commerce and industry in northern Germany. As trade increased, finer woolen and linen fabrics, and even silks, were manufactured in northern Germany. The same refinement of products out of
4761-847: Was pressured by temporarily moving the Hanseatic emporium to Aardenburg from 1280 to 1282, from 1307 or 1308 to 1310 and in 1350, to Dordt in 1358 and 1388, and to Antwerp in 1436. Boycotts against Norway in 1284 and Flanders in 1358 nearly caused famines. They sometimes resorted to military action. Several Hanseatic cities maintained their warships and in times of need, repurposed merchant ships. Military action against political powers often involved an ad hoc coalition of stakeholders, called an alliance ( tohopesate ). As an essential part of protecting their investments, League members trained pilots and erected lighthouses, including Kõpu Lighthouse . Lübeck erected in 1202 what may be northern Europe's first proper lighthouse in Falsterbo . By 1600 at least 15 lighthouses had been erected along
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