The Hanseatic League in Lüneburg

The era of the Hanseatic League

Lüneburg’s admission to the
medieval Hanseatic League of merchants and towns is due entirely to the salt
dome lying deep under the town. Salt was a very valuable commodity in the
Middle Ages and was also known as "white gold". This meant that Lüneburg long had the monopoly as the
supplier of salt in North Germany.

The salt extracted in Lüneburg’s saltworks was taken by ship from the old port to Lübeck,
where the Hanseatic League had come into being in the mid-12th century, and
from there it was shipped all over the known world. As a result of its flourishing trade,
Lüneburg became a member of the Saxonian, and then later the Wendish, group of
towns. With this the town acquired a significant function as intermediary
between both. Proof that Lüneburg was actually a full member of the Hanseatic
League is provided by the co-financing of a campaign against Denmark and
attendance at the Hanseatic Diet in Lübeck in 1363.

Between 1363 and 1530 Lüneburg had
despatched numerous representatives to the Hanseatic Diets and central meetings,
even organising Hanseatic League conventions itself and providing military support
to other towns in the league. Lüneburg
remained associated with the Hanseatic League into the 17th century; however,
with the loss of its salt monopoly the town had already left its economic boom
behind. 

Today Lüneburg’s townscape still bears witness to its former wealth
and the intensive trade of the Hanseatic League. Magnificent gabled houses,
mighty churches, the medieval town hall, the old port with its famous crane and
the historic warehouse bear witness to the town’s fascinating past. In the
German Salt
Museum, which is located on the site of
the old saltworks, the history of Lüneburg in the age of the Hanseatic League
is vividly brought to life.

Today the Hanseatic town of Lüneburg
honours its Master Salters once a year. In the Middle Ages they were
responsible for the extraction of the salt and hence played a considerable part
in the fame and wealth of the town. The Master
Salter Days take place every year in
autumn, a great medieval spectacle all about salt.