The Treaty of Stralsund (24 May 1370) ended the war between the Hanseatic League

Hanseatic League

The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...

 and the kingdom of Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. The Hanseatic League reached the peak of its power by the conditions of this treaty.

The war began in 1361, when Danish king Valdemar Atterdag conquered Scania

Scania

Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...

, Öland

Öland

' is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but during Swedish Midsummer it is visited by up to 500,000 people...

, and Gotland

Gotland

Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...

 with the major Hanseatic town Visby

Visby

-See also:* Battle of Visby* Gotland University College* List of governors of Gotland County-External links:* - Visby*...

. In 1362, a Hanseatic counterstrike was repelled by the Danish fleet at Helsingborg

Helsingborg

Helsingborg is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 97,122 inhabitants in 2010. Helsingborg is the centre of an area in the Øresund region of about 320,000 inhabitants in north-west Scania, and is Sweden's closest point to Denmark, with the Danish city...

, which led Hansa to accept a truce culminating in the unfavourable Treaty of Vordingborg (1365), depriving the league of much of its privileges. Unwilling to accept the treaty, the Hanseatic League, which used to be a trade league rather than a political union, raised a fleet through the Confederation of Cologne

Confederation of Cologne

The Confederation of Cologne was a mediaeval military alliance against Denmark signed 1367 by cities of the Hanseatic League on their meeting called Hansetag in Cologne....

 in 1367 and renewed their Swedish alliances. In the following battles, Valdemar and his Norwegian son-in-law Hakon VI were utterly defeated.

The treaty was negotiated for Denmark by drost

Drost

Seneschal of the Realm, Riksdrots , Rigsdrost , or Valtakunnandrotsi is a Danish and Swedish name of a supreme state official, with at least a connotation to administration of judiciary, who in medieval Scandinavia was often a leader in the government.The word drots/drost...

 Henning Podebusk

Henning Podebusk

Henning Podebusk was a German-Slavic statesman, the last drost of Denmark, who died . He served under King Valdemar IV, King Oluf II, and Queen Margaret I, and he was the de facto ruler of Denmark from 1368 to 1370. Podebusk, whose personal character is unknown, is now considered one of the most...

 and for the Hanseatic League by the burgomasters Jakob Pleskow of Lübeck

Lübeck

The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...

 and Bertram Wulflam of Stralsund

Stralsund

- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...

. In the treaty, the freedom of Visby was reestablished. Furthermore, Denmark had to assure the Hanseatic League of free trade in the entire Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

. This gave the Hanseatic League a monopoly on the Baltic fish trade. The league also gained the right to veto against Danish throne candidates.