Kontor

A kontor (also Kontor) (English: /kɒnˈtɔːr/) was a major foreign trading post of the Hanseatic League.^[1]: 127 Kontors were legal persons established in a foreign city, that means a city that did not belong to the Hanseatic League, with a degree of legal autonomy. Most kontors were also enclaves. They were located, in London (the Steelyard),^[2] Bruges (Kontor of Bruges, later moved to Antwerp), Bergen (Bryggen), and Novgorod (Peterhof). Smaller Hanseatic outposts were called Faktoreien, 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 the Hansetag (Hanseatic diet) in the mid 14th century.

In addition to the kontore, there were less important trading posts. The vitten 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 representative merchant and a warehouse; many did not operate all year. These are not considered kontors in the literature but popular discussions are often confused.^[1]