Schøtstuene Assembly Rooms
Listen at the stop, then read the transcript and follow the sources behind the story.
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Transcript
Schøtstuene were assembly and dining rooms used by Hanseatic merchants. Fire risk meant cooking and substantial heating were separated from the densely packed warehouses and living spaces of Bryggen.
The kontor was overwhelmingly male and highly regulated. Young merchants and apprentices lived within a disciplined commercial community. Trade depended on trust, credit and repeated relationships as much as on ships.
This is a useful correction to the romantic word “Hanseatic”. The system involved account books, quality control, debts and office rules. Medieval international business had fewer spreadsheets but no shortage of people checking whether someone had cheated on a barrel.
The museum describes Bergen as an international trading post linked to Hanseatic merchants until the eighteenth century.
When a network lasts centuries, daily routines matter more than dramatic treaties.