Klaus Störtebeker (also known as Klaas Störtebecker, Johann Störtebecker or Nikolaus Storzenbecher) (1360 – supposed 20 October 1401) was a German

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

. Reputed to be the leader of a group of

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s known as the

Victual Brothers The Victual Brothers () were a loosely organized guild of privateers who later turned to piracy. They affected maritime history, maritime trade during the 14th century in both the North Sea, North and Baltic Sea, Baltic Seas. They were initially ...

(), his group was hired to assist in a war between Sweden and Denmark between continued to capture merchant vessels mainly in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

and

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. Sharing their spoils equally, they named themselves "Likedeelers" (literally: equal sharers). Within

German folklore German folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Germany over a number of centuries. Seeing as Germany was divided into numerous polities for most of its history, this term might both refer to the folklore of Germany proper and of all ...

, Störtebecker is a legendary figure similar to

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

, stealing from the rich to help the poor, and amassing and hiding great treasure. His reputed feats border the supernatural, such as allegedly walking past his crew after being beheaded.

Biography

A large number of myths and legends surround the few facts known about Störtebeker's life. His name is both a nickname and a surname, meaning "empty the mug with one gulp" in

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

. The moniker refers to the pirate's supposed ability to empty a four-litre (about 1 US gal) mug of beer in one gulp. At this time, pirates and other fugitives from the law often adopted a colorful ''

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

''. Störtebeker entered public consciousness around 1398, after the expulsion of the Victual Brothers from the

island of

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

, where they had set up a stronghold and headquarters in the town of

Visby Visby () is an urban areas in Sweden, urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic League, ...

. During the following years, Störtebeker and some of his fellow captains (the most famous of whom were Gödeke Michels, Hennig Wichmann and Magister Wigbold) captured

Hanseatic The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

ships, irrespective of their origin. Störtebeker had a stronghold in Marienhafe,

East Frisia East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...

, dating from about 1396. He married a daughter of the East Frisian chieftain Keno ten Broke (c. 1310–1376). A tower bearing his name (''Störtebekerturm'') still exists at the Evangelical Lutheran Marienkirche in Marienhafe.

Legend

According to legend, in 1401, a

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

ian fleet led by Simon of Utrecht caught up with Störtebeker's force near

Heligoland Heligoland (; , ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , ) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. The islands were historically possessions of Denmark, then became possessions of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890. Since 1890, the ...

. According to some stories, Störtebeker's ship had been disabled by a traitor who cast molten lead into the links of the chain which controlled the ship's rudder. Störtebeker and his crew were captured and brought to Hamburg, where they were tried for piracy. Legend says that Störtebeker offered a chain of gold long enough to enclose the whole of Hamburg in exchange for his life and freedom. However, Störtebeker and all of his 73 companions were sentenced to death and were beheaded on the Grasbrook. The most famous legend of Störtebeker relates to the execution itself. Störtebeker is said to have asked the mayor of Hamburg to release as many of his companions as he could walk past after being beheaded. Following the granting of this request and the subsequent beheading, Störtebeker's body arose and walked past eleven of his men before the executioner tripped him with an outstretched foot. Nevertheless, the eleven men were executed along with the others. The senate of Hamburg asked the executioner if he was not tired after all this, but he replied he could easily execute the whole of the senate as well. For this, he himself was sentenced to death and executed by the youngest member of the senate. According to other legends, when Störtebeker's ship was found, the masts contained a core of gold (one of gold, one of silver, and one of copper). This was used to create the tip of St. Catherine's church in Hamburg. His famous drinking cup was stored in the town hall of Hamburg, until it was destroyed in the great fire of 1842. Recent events have suggested it is more likely that Störtebeker and his crew died in 1400. A bill for digging graves for 30 Victual Brothers dated to this year survives in the Hamburg records. This would also suggest the story that Störtebeker was sentenced to death with 70 other privateers is at least misleading; at minimum, he certainly was buried with 30 other men. The year 1400 also excludes the involvement of Simon of Utrecht and the ship ("Colorful Cow"), since the records show the ship was not completed until 1401. In fact, the Hanseatic fleet that attacked Störtebeker was commanded by Hermann Langhe (also Lange) and Nikolaus Schoke (Nicoalus Schocke), who set sail for Heligoland in August 1400, and the course of the battle is not described by any reliable sources.

Appearance

No authentic portrait of Störtebeker is known. An etching made by fifteenth century German artist

Daniel Hopfer Daniel Hopfer ( – 1536) was a German artist who is widely believed to have been the first to use etching in printmaking, at the end of the 15th century. He also worked in woodcut. Although his etchings were widely ignored by art historians for ...

, often erroneously identified as a portrait of Klaus Störtebeker, is actually of Kunz von der Rosen (1470–1519),

court jester A jester, also known as joker, court jester, or fool, was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch kept to entertain guests at the royal court. Jesters were also travelling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town ma ...

of Emperor Maximilian I. However, a tentative reconstruction of Störtebeker's appearance has been made using a skull alleged to be his. This skull, displayed at the Museum for Hamburg History since 1922, was stolen in January 2010 and found by the police in March 2011.

Memorials and legacy

* Statues depicting him stand in a number of Northern German cities, including

Verden an der Aller Verden an der Aller (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Veern''), also called Verden (Aller) or simply Verden, is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the river Aller. It is the district town of the district of Verden in Lower Saxony and an independent mun ...

and Marienhafe. * Störtebeker Festival (''Störtebeker Festspiele'') is an open-air theatre event, held annually in the town of Ralswiek on the isle of

Rügen Rügen (; Rani: ''Rȯjana'', ''Rāna''; , ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic ci ...

. * The term ''Stoertebekerland'' has been adopted to promote tourism in

Novels, TV, and beer

Störtebeker is mentioned in several Apothecer Melchior books by Estonian writer Indrek Hargla. Stortebeker is the name of the leader of the youth gang The Dusters in the novel

The Tin Drum ''The Tin Drum'' (, ) is a 1959 novel by Günter Grass, the first book of his Danzig Trilogy. It was adapted into a 1979 film, which won both the 1979 Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1980. To "beat a ti ...

by Gunter Grass. The character of Klaus Störtebeker has appeared in various recent publications including ''Die Vitalienbrüder: Ein Störtebeker Roman''. a German language novel by Willi Bredel (Hinstorff Verlag, 1996, ) Störtebeker was portrayed on television by Ken Duken in ''Störtebeker'', a 2006 miniseries. He was also the subject of a 2007 documentary and of the feature-length movie '' 12 Paces Without a Head'', in the making in 2008. The German brewery Störtebeker Braumanufaktur chose their name as a homage to Störtebeker.

References

Other sources

* * * *

External links

*
Die Störtebeker Story (Hambury de)

Offizieller Webauftritt der Störtebeker Festspiele

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stortebeker, Klaus 1360 births 1400s deaths 14th-century German military personnel 15th-century executions Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown Executed people from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania German folklore German pirates History of Hamburg Medieval pirates People executed in the Holy Roman Empire by decapitation People executed for piracy People from Wismar Privateers Legendary German people