European Hansemuseum, Lübeck, Germany

The European Hansemuseum is dedicated to the history of the Hanseatic League. The museum consists of a permanent exhibition with exhibits of original historical objects, interactive elements and staged historical scenes from the former trading ports of the Hansa Novgorod, Bruges, Bergen and London, as well as Lübeck. The original historical items displayed include documents, paintings and gold and silver coins from the so-called Lübeck Hoard.

The exhibition is aimed at informing visitors about the overall history of the Hanseatic League from its formation to its dissolution, but also about the economics and trade networks of the League as well as of everyday life in the historical time span during which the Hansa existed. It is the largest museum in the world dedicated to the history of the Hanseatic League.

References:

Wikipedia

Museums in Germany

User Reviews

Gabrielius Gudynas (14 months ago)
Interesting and interactive. Big museum so it takes at least 2h if you want to read everything. Really worth the visit if you are interested in how hansa influenced the merchant trades.

Tatiana Nardi (14 months ago)
Really interesting interactive museum describing the history of the Hanseatic League and the city of Lübeck. It’s packed with information on panels, audio and screens, combined with relics and artifacts from the different eras. The exhibition design is genius, it provides a good pace and you never get bored even though it’s a lot. I was there for 2h and couldn’t really see everything, recommend 3h to really enjoy the museum. Great for adults and kids, but you’ll probably have to read and explain things to the smaller ones. Staff was really nice too!

Eva Ekengren (14 months ago)
Fantastic interactive museum that caters in German, English, Swedish and Russian. You walk through the museum and travel through time and through different geographies. Part of the museum shows an excavation of the area around the burgtor. Warmly recommended bit it take three or four hours to walk through it and enjoy all things. Kids will enjoy at least some parts of the museum.

Charles Goodwin (15 months ago)
Great explanation of the Hanseatic League and it's origins. Interactive displays in all the common languages (German, English, Spanish, & Russian). Well done.

Johan Sandin (16 months ago)
A very complete museum that gives you a great insight in this particular period. Before entering the exhibition, the visitor can choose a certain theme or area and then the virtual guide will give him/her information according to what was chosen.

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In 1151 King Konrad III ended a dispute over who should inherit Cochem Castle by laying siege to it and taking possession of it himself. That same year it became an official Imperial Castle (Reichsburg) subject to imperial authority. In 1282 it was Habsburg King Rudolf’s turn, when he conquered the Reichsburg Cochem and took it over. But just 12 years later, in 1294, the newest owner, King Adolf of Nassau pawned the castle, the town of Cochem and the surrounding region in order to finance his coronation. Adolf’s successor, Albrecht I, was unable to redeem the pledge and was forced to grant the castle to the archbishop in nearby Trier and the Electorate of Trier, which then administered the Reichsburg continuously, except for a brief interruption when Trier’s Archbishop Balduin of Luxembourg had to pawn the castle to a countess. But he got it back a year later.

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Louis Jacques Ravené (1823-1879) did not live to see the completion of his renovated castle, but it was completed by his son Louis Auguste Ravené (1866-1944). Louis Auguste was only two years old when construction work at the old ruins above Cochem began in 1868, but most of the new castle took shape from 1874 to 1877, based on designs by Berlin architects. After the death of his father in 1879, Louis Auguste supervised the final stages of construction, mostly involving work on the castle’s interior. The castle was finally completed in 1890. Louis Auguste, like his father, a lover of art, filled the castle with an extensive art collection, most of which was lost during the Second World War.

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