Though the Hanseatic League ended formally in 1669, this medieval associations of merchants still casts a spell. Many cities along the Baltic and North Sea are proud to call themselves Hanseatic. But what was it about this organisation (if it even was one) that had no permanent institutions, not even a register of members and started out at the far fringes of the global trading system that feels still so relevant. This podcast series tries to get to the bottom of this. Episodes are 30-35 min long and are published every Friday. The Hanseatic League is also Season 6 of the History of the Germans Podcast, a narrative history of the German people from 919 to 1991: https://podfollow.com/history-of-the-germans