On the 2nd of April 2021, we lost Rolf Hammel-Kiesow, the spiritual father of the European Hansemuseum, a valued colleague and good friend. As the Lübecker Nachrichten newspaper wrote, his was a ‘life dedicated to the Hanseatic League’: since 1993, Rolf Hammel-Kiesow had headed the newly founded Research Centre for Hanse and Baltic History (FGHO), which is now based at the museum. From 2000 onwards, he worked on the conceptual design of our museum, where he was scientific director until his retirement on 1st July 2016. He shaped the Hanseatic History Society as its managing director, as editor-in-chief of the association’s journal Hansische Geschichtsblätter, and, in particular, as its chairman from 2010 to 2019.

Those who knew Rolf Hammel-Kiesow have much more to say about him than ‘just’ listing his many offices and over 150 scientific contributions to the history of the Hanseatic League and Lübeck. He was not only a source of historical knowledge, but also a pleasant conversationalist and someone whose company was greatly appreciated. Colleagues and friends miss the warm-hearted Swabian and Lübecker by choice – we would have liked to have spent more time with him and will honour his memory.