The Hanseatic era has left its mark across the entire Baltic Sea region. We present seven towns where its splendour still shines through. Part 8: The cog – the ship that brought them together.
The driving force behind the Hanseatic League
One reason for the Hanseatic League’s success was its use of a new type of ship: the cog. The cog was developed towards the end of the 12th century. It was a bulbous, single-masted cargo ship with a square sail, a stern rudder and a flat keel, which allowed it to navigate even shallow waters. It could carry a relatively large amount of cargo with a small crew, making it ideally suited to trade in the Baltic Sea.
The use of this new type of ship gave the Hanseatic League clear advantages over its competitors. They came in various sizes, ranging from 15 to 25 metres in length, 5 to 8 metres in width and with a side height of 3 to 5 metres. The unit of measurement for a cog’s carrying capacity was the ‘last’. The weight of one last was equivalent to approximately two tonnes, which was the load capacity of a four-horse cart. A small cog with a capacity of 50 ‘last’ could therefore carry as much as a train of 50 carriages drawn by 200 horses. However, due to its lack of a keel and its simple rigging, the ship’s manoeuvrability was limited and it was dependent on favourable winds. It could not sail against the wind. It could therefore take some time for the trade goods to reach their destination. The ships also almost always sailed within sight of the coast. Towards the end of the 14th century, it was replaced by more efficient types of vessel.
The Bremen Kogge
The ‘Bremen Kogge’ is the world’s best-preserved medieval merchant ship. The discovery of the shipwreck in the River Weser in 1962 caused a sensation. The exhibition dedicated to the Kogge, which opened in 2017 at the German Maritime Museum In Bremerhaven, the shipwreck, which is over 600 years old, is on display in the Kogge-Halle, named after it.
Further articles from the ‘Hanseatic Cities’ series:
Jill Grigoleit
Editor Travel
