The emergence of Hanseatic research in Germany in the first half of the 19th century and the founding of the Hanseatic History Society (Hansischer Geschichtsverein) in 1870/71 did not happen in a scholarly vacuum, but resulted from political considerations of the present. This article will show how, why and by whom the Hanseatic League was anchored as a mnemonic fixed point in the firmament of German historical memory in the 19th century. From the beginnings of Hanseatic research under Georg Sartorius, the arc will then be drawn from Leopold (von) Ranke,
Georg Waitz, Christian Wurm, Johann Lappenberg and Gustav Freytag to the four
most prominent contributors to the Hanseatic History Society in the 19th century:
Karl Koppmann, Baron Goswin von der Ropp, Konstantin Höhlbaum and Dietrich
Schäfer. It will not only be shown how they came to Hanseatic research, but also
how they tried in different ways to anchor the Hanseatic League in the historical
consciousness of the Germans. The thesis will be put forward that the Hanseatic
League was used to first give the citizens of the North German cities a medieval history with a contemporary connection before it was built into a general imperial context.