Hanseatic city of Laredo

Laredo

Welcome to Laredo, Spain's first Hanseatic city!

Discover and enjoy our beautiful city, a haven of peace, modern, innovative, and future-oriented, ready to be part of a European project that will capture the interest of international visitors and citizen participation.

THE HANSA in Laredo
Laredo, with its 11,000 inhabitants, its pleasant climate even in winter, its excellent sea views and sunsets, its old town, the hospitality of its people, its cultural wealth, and its restaurants, where all this is combined with nature, is the perfect town to explore on foot.

La Puebla Vieja (Old Town)
The Old Town is made up of narrow, cobbled streets that evoke its medieval past. It is home to the pre-Gothic church of Santa María de la Asunción (Santa María de la Asunción), a 13th- and 14th-century building, with its most prized treasure, the Bethlehem Altarpiece, a masterpiece of Brussels sculpture, a 15th-century Flemish work. Likewise, the Puerta de San Lorenzo (San Lorenzo Gate), which houses the Charles V Interpretation Center and the Commercial Letters linking Laredo to the Hansa. On the tour of Puebla Vieja, you'll visit mansions, palaces, coat of arms, and walls. The Old Town Hall building houses the "Hanseatic Space," where activities, exhibitions, and other events related to the Hanseatic League take place.

Facts & figures
The first written reference to Laredo's existence dates back to 968 as a fishing village. During the Middle Ages, when the development and advancement of the Hanseatic League extended its trade southward, Laredo, through its significant port, extended its routes northward, thus establishing the town's connection to the Hanseatic League.

On the occasion of Laredo's recent ratification as a new member of the European Cultural Route (ECR), an institutional event was held last March for the tourism and cultural sector, attended by representatives from the embassies of Belgium, Lithuania, and Germany, as well as various local authorities. With Laredo's accession to THE HANSA, Laredo now belongs to three Council of Europe Cultural Routes: the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, the European Route of Charles V, and THE HANSA.