Treaty of Stralsund

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Treaty of Stralsund (May 24, 1370) ended the war between the Hanseatic League and the kingdom of Denmark. The Hanseatic League reached the peak of its power by the conditions of this treaty.

The war began in 1361 with the capture of Visby, a Hanseatic town on the island of Gotland, which today belongs to Sweden. King Valdemar IV of Denmark took the town and declared it to be Danish. The Hanseatic League, which used to be a trade league rather than a political union, raised a fleet and blockaded the harbour of Copenhagen (1368). Denmark surrendered in 1369.

The treaty was negotiated for Denmark by drost Henning Podebusk and for the Hanseatic League by the burgomasters Jakob Pleskow of Lübeck and Bertram Wulflam of Stralsund.

In the treaty, the freedom of Visby was reestablished. Furthermore, Denmark had to assure the Hanseatic League of free trade in the entire Baltic Sea. This gave the Hanseatic League a monopoly on the Baltic fish trade. The league also gained the right of participation in deciding the future heirs to the Danish throne.

There is another (less important) treaty also known as the Treaty of Stralsund. It was arranged on February 12, 1354, and settled border disputes between the duchies of Mecklenburg and Pomerania.