Kontors and Outposts 133
Novgorod, German boys lived with farmers to learn the Russian language; and
in Bergen, accounts of prostitution and ritual processions are legend. When
seen in this light, the three kontors were not as different from Bruges as it first
seems, even though Bruges did not have a fenced area like the other three.
In Bruges, the Hansards spread over the whole town. They rented rooms and
houses, and mingled with Flamish, Dutchmen, Englishmen, Italians, and many
other nationalities. Thus, it was much more difficult for the kontors to control
business and social activities of the Hanseatic merchants. However, despite
the claims of an older literature, there were many occasions for intercourse
with local and rival merchants in the other three towns.
When Hanseatic merchants arrived at the kontors, they faced very different
environments. In London and Bruges, they entered urban centers with their
special flair; a mixture of people, languages, and cultures; and business ideas
and practices. To manage their business successfully, they had to adopt a man-
of-the-world attitude. In most cases, the stone houses, crowded streets, pal-
aces, and heavy fortification were much more than what the merchants were
used to from their hometowns, with the exception of Cologne and probably
Lübeck. The climate of these two towns was comparably friendly. It was prob-
ably a little warmer than in the Baltic Sea towns and a little wetter than in the
towns of the Rhine area, but this did not bother the merchants much.
Bergen and Novgorod, on the other hand, seem to have been the complete
antipodes of the former two kontors. The climate was harsh and challenging
for many merchants, especially during the winter. The ice and snow made it
comparably easy to access the Novgorod hinterland during the winter months,
though areas that were swampy and impenetrable in summer time, low tem-
peratures, icy winds, and the very short period of daylight made living condi-
tions extremely difficult. Snow was not a major problem in Bergen, but the
constant rainfall made living conditions extremely difficult. The short winter
days restricted the activities of the merchants and staff that stayed in these
towns. Though Bergen and Novgorod were large towns in the high times of
Hanseatic trade, their urban feeling must have been completely different from
Bruges or London.
Bergen was by far the largest town in Scandinavia and for a long time the
political and economic center of the Norwegian kingdom. Novgorod covered
an area of 120 hectares and was the place where rich and important aristocrats
had their houses and where they displayed their wealth.9 But compared to
London and Bruges, and even to towns like Cologne, Lübeck, or Bremen, Bergen
and Novgorod must have appeared rather provincial, small, and restrictive,
9 Stoob (1995), 77.