Stop 1 · Germany
Lübeck
The 'Queen of the Hanse' and seat of the Hansetag. The Holstentor was completed in 1478; Niederegger has made marzipan since 1806; Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks (1901) is set here. UNESCO listed the old town in 1987.
Great ports of the Hanseatic League
Five Baltic trading cities that ran a medieval commercial network without a state, an army or a capital — and whose brick warehouses, guild halls and stepped gables still say so.
The five stops
Stop 2 · Poland
Gdańsk
One of the Hanse's greatest grain ports. The Żuraw crane dates from 1444; the Free City lasted 1920–39; Westerplatte was shelled on 1 September 1939; Solidarity was born in the shipyard in August 1980.
Stop 3 · Sweden
Visby
The Hanse's early Baltic hub on Gotland, walled in the 13th century (3.4 km, 27 towers). The Battle of Visby was fought in July 1361. UNESCO listed the town in 1995.
Stop 4 · Latvia
Riga
Founded 1201 by Bishop Albert; a Hanse member from 1282. The House of the Blackheads was rebuilt in 1999. About a third of the central buildings are Art Nouveau; the Central Market occupies five WWI Zeppelin hangars.
Stop 5 · Estonia
Tallinn
Reval was granted Lübeck law in 1248 and joined the Hanse in 1285 as its northernmost member. UNESCO listed the old town in 1997. Skype was developed here in 2003; e-residency launched in 2014.
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