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How many towns belonged to the Hanseatic League at its height?
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Hanseatic League
Hanseatic port of Hamburg, manuscript illumination from the Hamburg City Charter of 1497.
The number of towns belonging to the Hanseatic League fluctuated over time, and because no official membership lists were ever compiled, the exact count remains uncertain.1
At the league's peak, which occurred around the middle of the 14th century, the total number of participating towns certainly surpassed 100. Membership was not rigid, and the number of participating cities generally tended to decline throughout the 15th and 16th centuries.1