Kontor

A kontor (English: /kɒnˈtɔːr/) was a major foreign trading post of the Hanseatic League.[1]: 127 

This article is about trading posts. For the record company, see Kontor Records.
The Hanseatic Warehouse in King's Lynn is the only surviving Hanseatic League building in England
The Oostershuis, headquarters of the Hanseatic League in Antwerp

In addition to the kontore in London (the Steelyard),[2] Bruges (Kontor of Bruges), Bergen (Bryggen), and Novgorod (Peterhof), there were less important trading posts. The vitten at the Scanian fairs were not as important as the kontors but more significant than the average outpost. The typical Hanseatic outpost had a representative merchant and a warehouse; many didn't operate all year.

Etymology

Through Middle Low German kontor, from French comptoir, from Latin computāre "calculate, compute". After spreading via the League, the word kontor continues to mean "office" in the Scandinavian languages and in Estonian, while kantoor is used in Dutch. Probably from Dutch, and quite possibly thanks to Peter the Great, the word, as контора (kontora), is also one term for "office" or "bureau" in Russian and Ukrainian, though the current word for "office" in Russian is usually офис (ofis).

Archaeology

Of all the kontor buildings, only Bergen's kontor, known as Bryggen in Norway, has 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's kontor is on the UNESCO list of the World Cultural Heritage sites.[3]

The Hanseatic Warehouse in King's Lynn in Norfolk, England survives, but was converted into offices in 1971.[4]

Panoramic view of Bryggen in Norway

References
  1. Burckhardt, Mike (2015). "Kontors and Outposts". In Harreld, Donald J. (ed.). A Companion to the Hanseatic League. Brill's Companions to European History. Leiden, Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-28288-9. Traditionally the Stalhof in London, the kontor in Bruges, Bryggen in Bergen, and Peterhof in Novgorod are known as the kontors of the Hanse. Similar, but smaller Hanseatic trading posts in other towns were referred to as outposts or 'Faktoreien.
  2. BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/A2MFANtn3Z/hanseatic_league
  3. Hanseatic League https://www.hanse.org/en/hanseatic-cities/bergen/
  4. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1195393)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
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