born 1949 in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt 

1971-1977   
Studies at the University of Heidelberg in history and German philology; furthermore political science (without a degree ) and pre-history 

1978-1984
Employee at the department for pre and early history as part of the interdisciplinary research project on "memorials at the Hansestadt Lübeck" (sponsored by the Volkswagen foundation) engaging archeologists, historians and building historians

1983 
Submission of PhD thesis „Hauseigentum im spätmittelalterlichen Lübeck“ at the University of Heidelberg

1985-1993 
Employee at the department for the Preservation of Historical Monuments

1993-2016
Director of the Research Centre for Hanse and Baltic History

Since 1994 
Lecturer for Medieval and Early Modern history at the Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel (honorary professor since 2008)

1995 bis 2016/17 
Main editor of the journal "Hansische Geschichtsblätter"

2002 bis 2015 
Assistant director at the City Archives of Lübeck