Hanseatic League - Hanseatic League The foundations of the Hanseatic League, an alliance of trading cities that for a time in the later Middle Ages and the Early Modern period maintained a trade monopoly over most of Northern Europe and the Baltic, can be seen as early as the 12th century. At about this time, merchants in a given city began to form societies, or Hansa, with the intention of trading with foreign cities. These societies worked to acquire special trade privileges for their members. For example, the merchants of Cologne were able to convince Henry II of England to grant them special trading privileges and market rights in 1157. Eventually, some of these cities began to form alliances with other cities, forming a loose network of mutual assistance.
Kievan Rus' - of their neighbors to the west. In the centuries that followed the state's foundation, Rurik's descendants shared power over Kievan Rus'. Princely succession moved from elder to younger brother and from uncle to nephew, as well as from father to son. Junior members of the dynasty usually began their official careers as rulers of a minor district, progressed to more lucrative principalities, and then competed for the coveted throne of Kiev. In the 11th century and the 12th century, the princes and their retinues, which were a mixture of Slavic and Scandinavian elites, dominated the society of Kievan Rus'. Leading soldiers and officials received income and land from the princes in return for their political and military services. Kievan society lacked the class institutions and autonomous towns that were typical of.
Kraków - Vistulians were baptised. Probably the Kraków was dependent on the Great Moravia rulers. 10th century When the Great Moravia city was destroyed by Hungarians, Kraków is mentioned as one of the cities ruled by Kings of Bohemia. By the end of the 10th century Kraków was a major market centre and it was incorporated into land ruled by the Piast dynasty. Tangible historical data are available for events after the year 1000 ac. On the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries the first brick edifices were built (a castle, Romanesque churches) and a cathedral and a basilica, as well as the St. Felix and Adaukt Church. 11th to 13th century In the middle of the 11th century (1038) Kraków became the capital of Poland. Two hundred years later it was.
Visby - residence for the Governor of Gotland County. There is also a locally elected Gotland Municipality in the city. History Between the 12th and 14th centuries, Visby was an important center of the Hanseatic League. During the drive for Christianisation of the Baltic lands and the time of Riga's foundation around 1200, Visby became the mother city to Riga. The Hanseatic Town of Visby is part of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. See also: Visby (corvette) Panorama of Visby from seaward.
Viljandi - captured the town in August 1223. A contingent of Russians The following year Volquin, their Grandmaster, built a Castle in the town. It was a major fortification of Sword Brethren and was appointed a commander from 1248. In 1283 the town received a charter from Vilhelm von Schuborch, the master of the Order. The town was a member of the Hanseatic League from the beginning of the 14th Century. In 1470 Johann Wolthuss von Herse, the master of the order took up residence in the castle. In 1481 Ivan II of Russia laid siege to the castle but could not take it. However during the Livonian war the Russians did seize it in 1560. During the Swedish-Polish wars at the beginning of the seventeenth century the castle changed hands several times.
Hamburg - its principal port. The official name Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg recalls its membership in the medieval Hanseatic League and the fact that Hamburg is one of Germany's sixteen Bundesländer rather than part of a state. The state and administrative city cover 750 km² with 1.7 million inhabitants, while another 750,000 live in neighbouring urban areas. The wider Hamburg metropolitan region including nearby districts of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony covers 18,100 km² with a population of 4 million. History Founded in the first decade of the 9th century as Hamma Burg ("fortified town"), it was designated the seat of an bishopric (834) whose first bishop Ansgar became known as the Apostle of the North. In 845 a fleet said to number 600 Viking ships came up the Elbe river and destroyed Hamburg,.
Hans Holbein the Younger - addressed to the English statesman and author Sir Thomas More. Holbein painted many portraits at the court of Henry VIII. While there he designed state robes for the king. In later years he worked in both Basel and London. On one of his stays in London he painted German merchant Georg Giese at the Hanseatic League outpost in London, called the Steelyard (Stalhof). Holbein painted Anne of Cleves for Henry VIII during marriage negotiations - a common practice in the age before photography. Henry criticized the portrait as having been too flattering. While Holbein was working on another portrait of Henry, he died of plague. Portraits Holbein always made a highly detailed portrait of his subject using pencil, ink and coloured chalk, now considered artpieces in their own right. He transferred.
Hamelin - on the authentic places. There was a monastery at the place, which was founded as early as 851. A village grew in the neighbourhood and became a town in the 12th century. The incident with the Pied Piper is said to have happened in 1284 and may base on a true event somewhat different from the tale. In the 15th and 16th century Hamelin was a minor member of the Hanseatic League. The era of greatest wealth began in 1664, when Hamelin became a fortified border town of the principality of Hanover. In 1867 the town became a part of Prussia. Hamelin is also a gate to the surrounding Weserbergland mountains, which can be visited by hikers and bikers..
Hamm - dialect, that was spoken in that time. This name may have been given due to the location of Hamm in the corner of the Lippe river and the narrow Ahse affluent. In 1469 Hamm became a member of the Hanseatic League. It was one of the most powerful towns in the region, while the large cities of the today's Ruhr area were only tiny villages. In the 19th century coal mining and steel production became important in Hamm, just as in the adjoining Ruhr area. There are few ancient buildings in Hamm, due to the air raids of World War II. Hamm is better known for the largest Hindu temple of Europe, the Sri Kamadchi temple, which was completed in 2002..
Hamburg State Opera - biblical Singspiel by Johann Theile. It was not a court theatre but the first public opera house in Germany established by the art-loving citizens of Hamburg, a prosperous member of the Hanseatic League. The Hamburg Bürgeroper resisted the dominance of the Italianate style and rapidly became the leading musical center of the German Baroque. In 1703, George Friedrich Handel was engaged as violinist and harpsichordist and performances of his operas were not long in appearing. In 1705, Hamburg gave the world première of his opera Nero. In 1721, Georg Philipp Telemann, a central figure of the German Baroque, joined the Hamburg Opera, and in subsequent years Christoph Willibald Gluck, Johann Adolph Hasse and various Italian companies were among the guests. To replace the aging wooden structure on the Gaensemarkt, the first.
Herford - century later, Matilada grew up in the abbey of Herford; she was a descendant of the Saxonian leader Widukind. In Herford she met Henry the Fowler, who later became king of Germany. In late medieval times Herford was a member of the Hanseatic League. It was a Free Imperial City, i.e. it was directly subordinated to the emperor. This status was lost after the Peace of Westphalia (1648), when Herford was annexed by Brandenburg..
History of Finland - the border continued to the Gulf of Bothnia. A revolt in Kexholm in eastern Karelia against the Novgorodian rule broke out in 1337. The next year Sweden sent out raids into Ladoga Karelia. A Swedish army was defeated in Ingria and the war ended with an peace that confirmed the treaty from 1323. In 1347 the Swedish king Magnus III prepared for war against Novgorod, probably because of Novgorodian raids in the previous year. The war was backed up by the clergy and Saint Birgitta. The next year a Swedish army landed near the river Neva, fought a Novgorodian army and continued to Nöteborg which they besieged and occupied. After this the king returned to Sweden. A Novgorodian army with new Russian contingents arrived too late to relieve the besieged castle..
History of Latvia - German sailors shipwrecked on the Daugava River in 1054 had inhabited the area, which led to increasing German influence. Founded by the Germanic Bishop Alberth of Livonia in 1201, Riga joined the Hanseatic League in 1285 and shared important cultural and economic ties to the rest of Europe. However, the new German nobility enserfed the peasantry and accorded non-Germanic peoples only limited trading and property rights. Subsequent wars and treaties ensured Livonia's partition and colonization for centuries. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's successes during the Livonian Wars (1558-83) united the Latvian-populated duchies of Pardaugava, Kurzeme, and Zemgale, but the Polish-Swedish War (1600-29) granted Sweden acquisition of Riga and the Duchy of Pardaugava, minus Latgale, leaving Latvia again split ethnically. In turn, victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War (1700-21) gave Russia control.
History of Estonia - the last corner of medieval Europe to be Christianized. The Middle Ages In 1227 the German crusading order of the Sword Brethren defeated the last Estonian stronghold. The people were Christianized, colonized, and reduced to serfdom. Despite attempts to restore independence, Estonia was divided among three domains, and small states were formed. Tallinn joined the Hanseatic League in 1248. Despite successful Russian raids and invasions in 1481 and 1558, the local German barons continued to rule Estonia and from 1524 preserved Estonian commitment to the Protestant Reformation. Swedish Control Northern Estonia submitted to Swedish control in 1561 during the Livonian Wars, and during 1582-83 southern Estonia (Livonia) became part of Poland's Dorpat Voivodship. In 1625, mainland Estonia came entirely under Swedish rule. In 1631, the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus granted the.
History of Denmark - outline some general trends here. After the death of Canute the Great in 1035, England broke away from Danish control and Denmark fell into disarray for some time. Vikings from Norway raided Denmark sporadically. Canute’s nephew Sweyn Estridson (1020-1074) re-established strong royal authority and built a good relationship with the Archbishop of Bremen, who was at that time the Archbishop of all of Scandinavia. In the early 12th century Denmark became the seat of an independent church province of Scandinavia. Not long after that Sweden and Norway formed their own archbishoprics free of Danish control. The mid 12th century was a difficult time for the kingdom of Denmark. Civil wars rocked the land and created much strife. Eventually, Valdemar the Great (1131-82), gained control of the kingdom, stabilizing it and reorganizing.
Hildesheim - The town was founded in 815 and became a bishopric. Four centuries the clergy ruled Hildesheim, before a town hall was built and the citizens gained some influence. In 1367 Hildesheim became a member of the Hanseatic League. The city was totally destroyed by air raids in 1945. The centre, which had retained its medieval character until then, ceased to exist. It was rebuilt in a completely different style, and concrete houses took the place of the destroyed buildings. In the late 1970s the reconstruction of the historic centre began: The concrete buildings were torn down and replaced by copies of the old buildings. Also in the 1970s, the University of Hildesheim was founded. The cathedral of Hildesheim is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built in the 9th century,.
History of Cologne - showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 The Romans 2 Franks, Merovingians and Carolingians 3 The Prince-Bishops of Cologne 4 The Hanseatic League 5 The French 6 The Prussians 7 The Nazis 8 Jews in Cologne The Romans In 39 BC, the tribe of the Ubii enter into an agreement with the Roman forces and settle on the left bank of the Rhine. Their headquarters was Oppidum Ubiorum - the settlement of the Ubii, and at the same time an important Roman military base. In 50 AD, Agrippina the younger, the wife of the Emperor Claudius, who was born in Cologne, asked for her home village to be elevated to the status of a colonia - a city under Roman law. Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis (A colony of Claudius and the altar of Agrippina) became the.
History of Berlin - ruled Berlin, successively as Margraves of Brandenburg, Kings of Prussia, and Emperors of Germany. Berlin's people were not enthusiastic about this change. In 1447 they revolted unsuccessfully against the monarch, losing many of their political and economic liberties. When Berlin became the residence of the Hohenzollerns, it had to give up its Hanseatic League free city status. Its main economical activity changed from trade to the production of luxurious goods for the court. Population figures rose fast (12,000 inhabitants around 1600), leading to poverty. Jews were the usual suspects: in 1510 100 Jews were accused of stealing and desecrating hosts. Thirty-eight of them were burned to death; others were banished, losing their possessions, only to be returned by later margraves. In 1540 Joachim II introduced the Protestant Reformation in Brandenburg and.
Holsteinisch - in Dithmarschen, around Neumünster, Rendsburg, Kiel and Lübeck. The local variant of Lübeck ("Lübsch") was a lingua franca for the Hanseatic league in the Middle Ages..
Gotlandia - province of Gotlandia is represented by the current administrative entity, Gotland County. The island is also a single municipality. History Main article: History of Gotland Early on Gotland became a commercial center and the town of Visby was a the most important Hanseatic city in the Baltic Sea. The city of Visby and rest of the island had different rulers and a civil war caused by conflicts between the German merchants in Visby and the trading peasants on the countryside had to be put down by King Magnus I of Sweden in 1288. In 1361, Waldemar Atterdag of Denmark invaded the island. By the Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645 the island was returned to Swedish rule. Geography Main article: Geography of Gotland The province of Gotland consists of the islands of.
