In the 14th century, Lübeck became the "Queen of the Hanseatic League", and at that time, the largest and most powerful member of this medieval trade organization.

The armies of both cities opened a second front and conquered Bergedorf, Riepenburg castle and the Esslingen river toll station (today's Zollenspieker Ferry) within weeks.

[citation needed] The Hanseatic League, under Lübeck's leadership, fought several wars against Denmark with varying degrees of success.

After the de facto disbandment of the Hanseatic League in 1669, Lübeck remained an important trading town on the Baltic Sea.

[citation needed] Lübeck remained a Free Imperial City even after the German Mediatisation in 1803 and became a sovereign state at the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806.

During the War of the Fourth Coalition against Napoleon, troops under Bernadotte occupied neutral Lübeck after a battle against Blücher on 6 November 1806.

[citation needed] Under the Continental System, trade suffered, and from 1811 to 1813, Lübeck was formally annexed as part of the First French Empire, department of Bouches-de-l'Elbe.

The following year Lübeck sold its share in the bi-urban condominium of Bergedorf to the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, which was also a sovereign state of the North German Confederation.

[citation needed] After the Nazi seizure of power, Lübeck, like all other German states, was subjected to the process of Gleichschaltung (coordination).

[7] Hildebrandt installed Otto-Heinrich Drechsler as the Bürgermeister, displacing the duly-elected Social Democrat, Paul Löwigt [de].