The history of the maritime cultural landscape of the North and Baltic Seas, with its ships and ports, is a fascinating topic. In the early Middle Ages, when traders settled in places located at the intersection of land routes, rivers, and shipping lanes, a crucial transformation in the maritime cultural history of the North and Baltic Seas took place. Northern Europe was connected by ships; the North Sea became the Mare Frisicum, and the Baltic Sea became the Mare Balticum. Frisians and Scandinavians were the carriers of trade. The Hanse was able to build upon this early medieval trade network, leading to the emergence of new port cities with quay facilities, and new ship types such as the cog and the holk began to define the maritime landscape. Merchants no longer sailed on the ships but stored their goods in offices of the new seaports. Further impulses reached the North after the colonial powers.