EUROPE – in the heart of Brilon

“Brilon and Hansa?” Many guests, but also plenty of Briloners confronted for the first time with our Hanseatic history will be wondering what a Westphalian country town located in the rural Sauerland highlands has to do with this medieval trading federation. On closer inspection, however, a lot of things will become clearer. Ultimately, everyone will agree it was thanks to its membership in a union safeguarding a well-organised trade that our town – just like other member cities of the Hansa League – succeded in reaching a level of prosperity which left its mark to this day.

That “closer inspection” will mainly be triggered off by the 40th International Hanseatic Days hosted by Brilon from 4th to 7th June 2020. Preparations for the event have evoked an intensive awareness enabling us to place our local history into a new framework, noticeably reinforcing the backbone of our identity. Back in 1995, it was those additional values that the initiators had in mind when they submitted their application for the hosting of the International Hanseatic Convention 2020, precisely the year in which Brilon is going to celebrate the 800th anniversary of its town charter.

In a variety of places, citizens of our town and our villages, men and women alike, are passionately committed to making the 40th International Hanseatic Days an event that will go down in Brilon's history. We want to be good hosts for our visitors from sixteen European countries. We wish to make a contribution to a truly successful Europe because for us, the New Hansa federation that was established in 1980 is a genuine European movement founded on the ideal of a united Europe.

“Hanse. Home. Handmade” – that is the leitmotif the Brilon Hanseatic Convention will be guided by. Please check out our Homepage if you want to see in detail what we mean by this motto. That, of course, can just be a first impression. We Briloners are looking forward to welcoming you as our guests in June 2020.

With Hanseatic greetings,

Dr. Christof Bartsch