Danzig (Gdańsk): The Great Port of the Hanseatic League
Danzig, known in Polish as Gdańsk, was the great port of the Polish grain trade and one of the wealthiest cities of the Hanseatic League. The city was founded in 1263, and it was granted Lübeck law in the same year. The city grew rapidly, thanks to its position on the Vistula, the principal river of Poland, and the city became the great port of the Polish grain trade, the great port of the Polish timber trade, and the great port of the Polish amber trade.
The grain trade
Danzig’s principal trade was in grain. The grain came from the Polish and Prussian hinterland, where the great plains of the Vistula produced wheat and rye in abundance. The grain was carried by river to the port of Danzig, and from Danzig by sea to the markets of the West. The grain trade was, in the late Middle Ages, the principal source of the wealth of Danzig, and the grain trade was the principal channel through which the agricultural surplus of eastern Europe reached the markets of the West.
A useful quantitative note: the Danzig grain registers, maintained from the 14th century onward, give annual tonnages passing through the port. The numbers fluctuate with the harvest, but the secular trend through the 15th century is sharply upward — one of the clearest statistical indicators of the Hanseatic golden age. The figures also show that Danzig was, by 1500, the single largest grain exporter in the Baltic, and one of the largest in Europe.
The amber trade
Danzig was also an important centre of the amber trade. The amber came from the Baltic coast to the east of Danzig, and the amber was carried to Danzig for processing and export. The amber was particularly prized in the West, and the amber trade was an important source of the wealth of Danzig.
A useful note: the Baltic amber trade has a much longer history than the Hanseatic era. Amber from the Baltic coast was a luxury item in the Bronze Age, was traded to the Mediterranean in antiquity, and was a key item in the medieval luxury trade. Danzig was, in effect, the medieval successor to the Roman amber trade routes.
The architecture
Danzig’s architecture is a remarkable blend of Brick Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles, and the city’s old town is one of the principal tourist attractions of Poland. The city’s Krantor, the crane gate that stands at the entrance to the old harbour, is one of the most distinctive monuments of the city, and the city’s Marienkirche, the largest brick church in the world, is one of the finest examples of the brick Gothic style.
A specific note: the largest brick church in the world claim is contested — the Marienkirche in Gdańsk is sometimes listed at 105 m long and 66 m wide, but the Olafikirche in Tallinn and the Marienkirche in Lübeck are also among the very largest. What is uncontested is that the Marienkirche in Gdańsk is one of the largest brick churches ever built, and that it served as a model for the Marienkirche of Lübeck (built earlier) and the Nikolai of Stralsund.
Politics
Danzig was, in the late Middle Ages, one of the principal cities of the League, and the city played an important role in the League’s politics. The city was a member of the Prussian cities’ district, and the city had a substantial voice in the Hansetag. The city was also the seat of the Teutonic Order until 1454, when the city revolted against the Order and placed itself under the protection of the Polish crown. The city’s revolt was a major event in the history of the League, and the revolt marked the beginning of the decline of the Teutonic Order.
A useful detail: the 1454 revolt of Danzig (and of the other Prussian cities) against the Teutonic Order was partly motivated by the Order’s taxation, which the cities saw as incompatible with their Hanseatic commercial privileges. The revolt’s success — culminating in the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), by which the western part of the Order’s territory came under Polish sovereignty — was a major realignment in the politics of the Baltic. The League, which had been a major backer of the Order, was forced to adapt to the new arrangement.