Akontor (alsoKontor;English:/kɒnˈtɔːr/) was a major foreigntrading post of theHanseatic League.[1]: 127 Kontors werelegal entities established in a foreign city (i.e. a city that did not belong to the Hanseatic League), with a degree of legal autonomy. Most kontors were also enclaves. They were located inLondon (theSteelyard),[2]Bruges (Kontor of Bruges, later moved toAntwerp),Bergen (Bryggen), andNovgorod (Peterhof). Smaller Hanseatic trading posts were calledfactorien, i.e.,factories.
The kontors were established as corporations or guilds of senior merchants from trade guilds. The main reason to found them was security. The Peterhof in Novgorod was founded first, in the early 13th century, the kontor of Bruges and Bryggen in Bergen were founded last. They were subordinated to the decisions of theHansetag (Hanseatic diet) in the mid 14th century.
In addition to thekontore, there were less important trading posts. Thevitten at the Scanian herring fairs were not as important as the kontors but more significant than the average outpost. The typical Hanseatic outpost, also called factory, had a representativemerchant and awarehouse; many did not operate all year. These are not considered kontors in the literature but popular discussions are often confused.[1]
Kontor isMiddle Low German. It comes fromFrenchcomptoir,[3] fromLatincomputāre "calculate, compute".
The kontors were legal entities established as a merchant's corporation (universitas mercatorum) and served to facilitate theHanseatic League's trade. They had their own treasury, seal, code of rules, legal power to enforce rules on residents and administration. They were usually also merchant enclaves; theKontor of Bruges was an exception.[4]: 91, 95–98
Security was the primary reason for the formation of kontors, but kontors also played an important role in inspecting trade goods and diplomacy with local and regional authorities.[1]: 128–130
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Each kontor had its own unique kind of administration, although there were clear similarities between the kontors. Aldermen (oldermenn,hovetlude orprocuratores) formed the internal legal authority and a representative to the rest of theHanseatic League and to local authorities. The numbers of aldermen varied. Thekontor of Bruges had first six and later three aldermen, and theSteelyard had one Hanseatic alderman and one English alderman. It is assumed that Bryggen had 6 aldermen at first. One view about Bryggen is that it changed to 2 in the first half of the 15th century, and that after a change in 1476 two aldermen held the post alternately. Another view is that Bryggen had one alderman from the 15th century. The Peterhof had one. Alderman usually held their position for a term of a year.[1]: 141 [4]: 100-101 [5]: 85–86
All resident and visiting Hanseatic traders fell under the authority of the kontor's administration.[6]: 99
At thePeterhof in Novgorod the office of alderman was replaced by thehofknecht in the 15th century, after theLivonian towns gained authority over the Peterhof. Thehofknecht was an appointee of the Livonian towns who was a permanent resident and could speak Russian.[6]: 100–101
Aldermen were supported by theachteinen orAchtzehnmänner, officials that fulfilled special functions and had the authority to represent the kontor when needed. They usually numbered eighteen, but in Bruges their number was later lowered to nine.[4]: 100-101
The kontors of Bruges, London and Bergen got a new secretarial position in the middle of the 15th century, the clerk. A clerk had gone to university to study law and was highly literate in Latin and in difficult legal literature. His duties were to provide the aldermen with legal advice and to manage correspondence. The clerk was an attractive and influential position that could be held for several years. The clerks increased the kontor's professionalisation.[1]: 135 [4]: 101
In Novgorod a priest performed secretarial duties. He was appointed alternately by one of two Hanseatic cities.[6]: 100 [4]: 100-101
The kontors in London and Bruges were reformed intoDrittel (thirds) in the 14th century, where the trader community was divided into three thirds based on geographic origin for administrative representation and finances. The thirds were organised differently in London and Bruges.[4]: 101 [1]: 138–139
In the mid 14th century the League subordinated all trading posts including theKontors to the Diet's decisions, and the kontors' envoys also received the right to attend and speak at Diets but they lacked voting power.[4]: 91
Kontors had their own code of regulations each, applied in.[4]: 100-101 The statutes were written in Middle Low German and recited to the trader community once a year.[1]: 142 They regulated matters like the authority of the kontor leadership, trade, taxes, duties, rights and contact with natives and outsiders.[4]: 104
Mostkontor buildings have not survived, only Bergen'skontor, known as Bryggen inNorway, and theOosterlingenhuis inBruges have survived until the present day. The Hanseatic kontor at Bryggen was closed in 1754 and replaced by a "Norwegian kontor", run by Norwegian citizens, but still with a large element of German immigrants. Bergen'skontor is on theUNESCO list of theWorld Cultural Heritage sites.
The Hanseatic Warehouse inKing's Lynn inEngland,Norfolk, which was actually afactory, not a kontor, managed to survive, but was converted into offices in 1971.[7]
The word "kontor" spread via the Hanseatic League. The wordkontor continues to mean "office" in theScandinavian languages and inEstonian.
Probably from Dutch, and quite possibly thanks toPeter the Great, the word, asконто́ра (kontora), is also one term for "office", "department", "organization", "bureau", etc. inRussian andUkrainian.
Traditionally theStalhof in London, thekontor in Bruges,Bryggen in Bergen, andPeterhof in Novgorod are known as thekontors of the Hanse. Similar, but smaller Hanseatic trading posts in other towns were referred to as outposts orFaktoreien.
Members of theHanseatic League by quarter, and trading posts of the Hanseatic League | ||||
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| Baltic | ||||
| Westphalian | ||||
| Kontore | ||||
| Vitten | ||||
| Factories | ||||