- Hanseatic League - a commercial and defensive confederation of free cities in northern Germany and surrounding areas; formed in the 13th century and most powerful in the 14th century
--1 is a kind of confederation, confederacy, federation
--1 has members:Bergen; Cologne, Koln; Halle, Halle-an-der-Saale; Hamburg; Lubeck; Rostock; Bruges, City of Bridges; Gdansk, Danzig; Tartu; Riga, capital of Latvia; Klaipeda, Memel