= Lübeck =
The history of Lübeck can be followed back to 100 AD when the settlement Liubice was founded. The Middle Age was dominated by the Hanseatic league.
[c] Early settlement and origins of the city name [c]
Evidence of settlements after the Weichselian glaciation is manifested in numerous megalithic tombs of the New Stone age on the city area and the near sou rounding like the Pöppendorf great stone tomb in the forest of Waldhusen and and the great stone grave on the Blanken lake.
In the east of Holstein the Slavic settlements started around 700 AD, when previous German dweller moved further to the west. The village Liubice (the lovely one) emearged around the time of Charlemagne (748-814) north to the inner town island of Lübeck between the Teerhof island and the mouth of the Schwartau in the Trave. The Pöppendorfer ringwall stems from the same time. Since the 10th century Liubice and Oldenburg were the most important Abodirten settlements in Holstein (Starigard). The dynasty of Nakoniden from Mecklenburg and Liubice were in constant conflict with the Liutizen. Liubice probably was already castlelike fortified at that time. The castle, which was founded in 819 evidenced by dendrochronology, was first mentioned by Adam of Bremen in 1076, who also reported of the stoning of Ansverus in the year 1066 near Einhaus. In the year 1093 the christian Nakonide Heirich took over the reign of the Abodrite and made Liubice his residence. After his death in 1127 the place was burned down by Ranen.
[c] German colonization and castle of Lübeck [c]
At the current location on the hill Buki, location of the previous Wendic castle between Trave and Wakenitz, the city of Lübeck was founded in 1143 by count Adolf II. of Schauenburg and Holstein as first German port on the Baltic sea after the original village was destroyed in 1138. He founded a castle with a earth wood wall, which is mentioned by Helmold of Bosau in 1147. Due to current digs a fountain dating to 1155 could be found.
In 1158 Adolf had to pass the castle to Heinrich the Loin, because he stirred up his dissatisfaction by involvement in the Dane crown dispute. This territorial count founded other cities besides Lübeck (Munich and Schwerin) and is seen as the most powerful German territorial count in medieval times. Heinrichs interest was mainly focues on the Slavic areas: The rise of Lübeck started with the incorporation of the bay of Lübeck into the regnum Teutonicum (German realm). Already 1134 Heinrich the Loin favored Baltic merchants and advertised Liubicie, which stood in concurrence to Schleswig. Later after its destruction by the Holstein and new foundation by count Adolf II., Liubicie was raised to a city and now called Lubeke. When Lubeke again burned down in 1157, Heinrich assigned the merchants a new location for the foundation, which however was impractical because the location, which is still unknown today, could not be reached by large ships. Heinrich therefore negotiated with count Adolf and achieved among many promises the handover of the burned down remains of Lubeke. According to a report of the chronicler Helmold of Bosau the merchants returned to the old location and abandoned the unfavorable site.
With Lübeck the typical medieval town was moved over the Elbe onto the Baltic sea. Therefore Lübeck was the first town east of the Elbe with a permanent market for merchants. In addition the redounded city was distinguished through legal security for merchants from the regnum Teutonicum in contrast to its predecessor city and the concurrent Schlieswig. Therefor Lübeck gained attraction for lower German merchants. The chronicle of Bosaus also describes the advertisement of north European merchants to frequent the port of Lübeck or even take up residence there. Therefor is is written of Heinrich the Loin and Lübeck: 'The duke [...] sent out messengers into the main towns and realms of the north, [...] and offered them peace for that they have access to free trade in his city Lübeck. He chartered there also a coin, a custom duty and most considerable city liberties. From that time on the life in the city flourished and the number of inhabitants was multiplied." The new foundation of the town at the Trave also fell into a economically budding time and Heinrichs Lübeck was founded as German port to provide the German merchants, until that time only tolerated in the Baltic sea, a better base: "Lübeck was from the beginning more than a new city and a port - it was the whole Baltic sea." Not only the shorter distance into the Baltic area was a match winning advantage but now the German merchants were able to have their own ships. The merchants of Lübeck could therefore intrude into the already existing trade Schleswig-Gotland-Novgorod. Lübeck prospered from the beginning and henceforth many people went into the Trave city. Lübeck together with Hamburg connected through a land road became an important and lucrative city union and let the importance of Schleswig further down.
In the beginning Lübeck also competed directly against Bardowick and Lüneburg, but latest with the move of the diocese from Oldenburg to Lübeck in 1163 (1160 bishop Gerold of Oldenburg begged Heinrich the Loin to relocate the bishopric to Lübeck. 1163 the first dome in Lübeck was consecrated) the regional significance of Lübeck became paramount.
After the downfall of Heinrich, the castle became imperial from 1181 till 1189, then till 1192 again ducal Saxony and was conquered in 1217 by king Waldemar II. of Denmark. After his defeat in the battle of Bornhöved (1227), a castle monastery was founded at its location which served the Dominican monks.
[c] Period of the Hanseatic league until the peace of Stralsund [c]
After the fire of 1157 Heinrich the Loin reconstructed Lübeck and abandoned his city Bardowick instead. In 1160 Lübeck gained the Soester city privilege. This event tody is seen by historians as the begin of the merchant Hanseatic league (in contrast to the later city Hanseatic league). Important argument in this position is the Artlenburger privilege of 1188, which equated the merchants of Lübeck to the until then dominating Gotlandian merchants on a legal basis. At that time began a comprehensive record of the events of the day in North Germany by Helmold of Bosau and his successor Arnold of Lübeck with the Chronica Slavorum. The Barbarossa-privilege assured the new foundation the territorial consistency and trade possibilities.
The constitution of the council, provided by Heinrich the Loin, is based upon a city council of 24 councilmen, that are put together from the guilds of merchants and extended with up to four mayors elected from their midst. So only the economical strongest merchant families could become members, however there was only on member per family allowed in the council, never two at the same time. This system of the constitution remained until the 19th century for the most part. With that the foundation for a fast climbing of Lübeck as trading power in north Europe, as the structure was solely focused on the interests of the merchants. Around 1200 the port and the naval trade gained further momentum: Lübeck became the emigrant port of the east colonization of the Teutonic Order in Livland, which reached its climax under high master Herman of Salta (golden charter of Rimini of March 1226).
Shortly thereafter in June 1226 emperor Friedrich II. granted the city imperial freedom through the imperial freedom charter (Reichsfreiheitsbrief) and Lübeck. The city soon boomed through its favorable location and the new ships type Hanseatic Holk, which could carry a multiple of load compared with earlier types. The menace of the independence by the expansion of power of the Dane king Waldemar II. was fended off successfully in the battle of Bornhöved. Due to the invasion of the Lundeburg duke Otto (1301) the city started to keep a standing militia.
After Visby, the first capital of the Hanseatic league, fell in 1361 under the influence of the Dane king Waldemar IV Atterdag, Lübeck became the new capital of the Hanseatic (also called the Hanseatic Queen), which developed into city league in the 13th century. During that time Lübeck became temporarily the most important trade town in northern Europe. The league of Wendic cities came into being. Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian granted gold coinage privileges to Lübeck in 1340. In 1356 the first common Hanseatic meeting (Hansetag) took place in Lübeck. The ongoing skirmishes with the Dane king Waldemar IV. caused the defeat of the Hanseatic fleet under the order of the mayor of Lübeck Johan Wittenborg in the Öresund and to the for the league unfavorable peace of Vordingborg (1365) and the founding of the Cologne confederation. After another war however the Dane stronghold Helsingborg fell under the Hessian siege of Bruno of Warendorp. With the peace of Stralsund Lübeck reached the summit of its power in the Baltic sea. By the foundation of the Wendic coin association the Lubic Mark became the lead currency in the Baltic trade. Emperor Karl IV. was the first Romain-German king to visit the city in 1375 since Friedrich I.
In 1380 there were inner riots, the so called bone cutter riots (Knochenhaueraufstand). The of the council excluded craftsmen and chandlers, who had to finance the costly war against Denmark by continuously increasing taxes and financial loss, demanded under the leadership of the bone cutters more freedoms of the offices and a saying in the council under. After a demonstration of the councils power, there was a compromise, which did not hold for long: In 1384 Henrick Paternostermaker, a merchant unhappy with his affairs, the brewing displeasure in the offices to plot against the council. The assault was betrayed and put down gorily.
In the 14th century Lübeck was one of the largest cities in the empire besides Cologne and Magdeburg. The city law of Lübeck (Lubic law), which emerged from the Soester city law, was applied in many Hanseatic towns, especially the in the Baltic, and the council of Lübeck was the highest court for all Hanseatic cities in the realm of law of Lübeck.
Hamburg and Lübeck worked closely together: While Hamburg covered especially the North sea area and Western Europa, the naval traffic of Lübeck was oriented toward Scandinavia and the Baltic sea, from the Bergen trading office (Bryggen) unto the one in Novgorod (Peterhof). The influence of Lübeck in the trading office in Bruges and London (Stalhof) was of political importance for the development the Hanseatic trade. The trade traffic between the two cities was mainly carried out over land, for example the old salt road, but also by river barge through the Steckniz channel, through which also the salt of Lüneburg, the most important export good of Lübeck, was transported to the North and East. The salt was required in the Baltic sea to conserve the fish. The herring was a much liked Lenten food in the medieval inland.
For protection of the Hanseatic trading interests and against the pirates like the Vitalienborthers, merchants of Lübeck armed a considerable number of Orlogships (warschips).
[c] Hanseatic time from the peace of Stralsund till the Reformation [c]
The beginning of the 15th century was also marked by inner revolts from 1408 till 1415. During that the council was temporary abolished. In 1410 Lübeck therefore was ostracized by the empire.
The treaty of Perleberg with the help of Hamburg caused the ordering of the relations to the dukes of Saxony Lauenburg in 1420. From then on Bergedorf and Vierlande were administered together unitl the 19th century.
The introduction of a sound duty in 1429 for the passing through the Öresund by king Erik VII caused a newly escalation between the Hanseatic towns and Denmark, which was resolved in the peace of Vordingborg by affirming the privileges of the Hanseatic league. Nevertheless the Hanseatic towns soon had to accept, due to the peace of Copenhagen - the end of the Hanseatic-Dutch war (1438-1441), the emerging Dutch concurrence in the Baltic sea.
The continous restriction of the Hanseatic privileges at the London Stahlhof cause the Wendic and Prussian Towns of the league to declare war against England. The Hanseatic-English war was a capture war and was concluded successfully for the Hanseatic league by the peace of Utrecht (1474) by mayor Hinrich Castrop. The Baltic trade of Lübeck at that time was not only dominated by salt, herrings from Schonen and stockfish from Norways. The north of Europe was supplied from there with items of daily use. Art items like the works of the painter and sculptor Bernt Notke and his coeval Germen Rode, as well as the in Lübeck produced winged altars, can be found throughout the whole Baltic sea.
The Hanseatic trade relations also promoted the sale of books. With the emerging book printing Lübeck at the end of the 15th century through printer like Lucas Brandis and his brother Matthäus, Johan Snell, Bartholomäus Ghotan (who created the first printed book, Missale Aboense, for Finland in 1488), Steffen Arndes (Lower German Bible 1495) and later Johann Balhorn, became a center for printing and book trafficking in the Baltic sea. The by Hans van Ghetlen in 1498 published book, a Lower German translation of Reyneke de vos (Reineke the fox) was according to today dictation a trivial bestseller in Germany and Scandinavia. In Germany the market for printing products in Lower German in Lübeck surpassed the city of Cologne, which could not serve the market in the same manner due to predominant Catholicism there.
In 1500 Lübeck became part of the Lower Saxony district of the empire.
The feuds with Denmark, caused by the hegemonic policy of the Dane king Christian II., increased again in 1509, but were at first settled down in the peace of Malmö (1512) by the mayor Thomas of Wickede. However they soon emerged again. Lübeck helped Gustav I. Wasa in 1523 to gain the Swedish throne, king Christian II. was deposed with the help of mayor von Wickede and Friedrich I. became new king of Denmark; as a counter draw the island Bornholm became Lubic for the next 50 years. For Denmark this was the end of the Kalmarer union.
The time from around 1522 till 1530 was dominated by the progressing Reformation. In 1531 the council appointed Johannes Burghagen to reorder the community (church, school, social welfare) in reformatory manner. His book 'Ter Keyserliken Stadt Lübeck christlike Ordeninge' (The Christian order of the imperial town of Lübeck) appeared in May 1531. In the end of the year the council forced the chapter in a treaty to relinquish the church wealth in the city. First overseer and headmaster of the new founded Latin school Katharineum was Hermann Bonnus.
In the same year the joining of Lübeck in the Schmalkaldic union caused the leaving of the Catholic mayors Nikolaus Brömse and Herman Plönnies. In the following riots the supporters of Jürgen Wullenwever could occupy the council. After his failure and Brömes return, Lübeck left the union again. The loading role of Lübeck as tradeing power in the Baltic sea was diminished in the first decades of the 16th century by the Dutch merchants which sailed directly to the eastern Baltic sea and thereby circumventing the staple of Lübeck. When Friedrich I. did not agree to hand over the sound castles in 1532 for their help in capturing Christian II, Jürgen Wullenwever tried to influence the regaining the old predominance in the Baltic sea with military measures. To finance this military adventure he let smelt down the church treasury. But he failed spectacularly, had to leave the city in 1535, was captured by the archbishop of Bremen and executed in 1537. With that the time of Lübeck as "Hanseatic Queen" had finally passed. And the importance of the Hanseatic league diminished as well.
In a cultural sense the beginning Reformation caused an stop of the artistic productivity in the city, as the sponsors for sacral art was missing. Only the natural colored earthenware sculptor Statius von Düren, the painter Hans Kemmer an the family of the carver Tönnies Evers the the Older could enrich culturally North Germany till the Renaissance. On them followed the artists of the transitional period the carver Tönnies Evers the Younger and the painter Johannes Williges.
[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschichte_der_Hansestadt_Lübeck, 2015-09-11]