Hello and welcome to the History of the Germans, Episode 105, the foundation of Lübeg.

Now this week we'll look at one of the great mysteries of German medieval history,

how Lübeck could become the second largest city in the Holy Roman Empire within just a hundred years of its foundation.

Because Lübeck lies on a small river, the Trave, that goes into a small sea, the Baltic.

And not only is the Baltic comparatively small, the people who live on its shores are no slouches.

They've been famed for traveling as far south as Constantinople and as far north as Greenland

for centuries.

So how did Lübeck manage to grow so fast?

We'll go through the different theories, and maybe, maybe we can find out.

But before we start, let me tell you that the history of the Germans podcast is advertising

free thanks to the generous

support from patrons. And you can become a patron too and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes and other

privileges from the price of a latte per month. All you have to do is sign up at patreon.com

slash History of the Germans or on my website, History of the Germans.com.

You'll find all the links in the show notes.

And thanks a lot to Catherine Funby,

Mr. F, Victor O, and Rudy.

Now last week, we took a good look at the county of Holstein and the beginnings

of the great migration from the western parts

of the empire into the lands north and east of the Elbe from the western parts of the Empire into the

lands north and east of the Elbe River.

200,000 people packed their bags and left the overcrowded cities and villages of Flanders,

...