Lübeck, Hanseatic City

Timeline

1. 1147Lübeck · GermanyDuke Henry the Lion of Saxony refounded Lübeck near the mouth of the Trave and granted it city law, replacing the old settlement, intending to control profits from the southwestern Baltic sea lanes and the overland link between the Elbe and Lübeck.
2. 1180–1190Lübeck · GermanyBy the 1180s Lübeck had established stable trade routes with Visby and Scandinavian ports, exporting furs, amber, and Baltic products and importing manufactured goods from Germany and the Rhineland; the city's merchant class and guild system gradually matured, laying the foundation for its later Hanseatic leadership.
3. c. 1356–1669Lübeck · GermanyFrom the 14th to 17th centuries Lübeck served as the de facto headquarters of the Hanseatic League, presiding over the diets of the cities and enforcing the Lübeck Law, controlling bulk Baltic trade, until Northern European competition and political upheavals in the 17th century weakened its hegemony.