International Hanse Day
The annual festival, which returns for its 16th year in June 2025, celebrates the 20th anniversary King’s Lynn’s past and ongoing membership of the New Hanseatic League.
The annual festival, which returns for its 16th year in June 2025, celebrates the 20th anniversary King’s Lynn’s past and ongoing membership of the New Hanseatic League.
The King’s Lynn Hanse Festival 2025
In the lead up to the festival, the very special King’s Lynn Hanse Festival 2025 events programme was exclusively released on: https://www.kingslynnhansefestival.co.uk
To give you a flavour of any future local Hanse Festival, please find details from this past event below.
The Hanse Festival returned to King’s Lynn for the 16th year across 14th and 15th June 2025.
This annual festival celebrates the town’s past and current membership of the Hanseatic League. An outline of the full programme of events from the two-day festival in 2025 is given below as an example of what a visitor can expect from the Hanse Festival experience.
The 2025 Hanse Festival started off with the traditional parade through King’s Lynn leaving from Tuesday Market Place. The ‘Parade of Flags’ showcased many Hanseatic countries, towns and cities. Supported by the Hanseatic Union, flag bearers from many countries headed through King’s Lynn town centre, past the Hanse House, and up to King’s Staithe Square by the quayside. The parade was joined by students from Springwood High School, members of the Lithuanian Society dressed in traditional costumes, the Cambridge Waites, the Nelson Shanty Men, and a motley crew of full-costumed pirates!
The sun came out to play as the parade arrived at King’s Staithe square where there was live music for all the family to enjoy, along with flags waving, traditional dancing, and activities for the children. The local Girl Guides group volunteered to help out with activities for the children, where they helped make paper boats and played games.
Popular events from previous festivals returned in 2025, including two Discover Hanseatic Lynn walks and a short film about the Hanse League at Marriott’s Warehouse.
The King’s Lynn Town Guides led with the ‘Discover Hanseatic Lynn’ walks. Each walk was an hour-long tour of the town’s key Hanseatic buildings. Walks were free to attend but were booked at the Tourist Information Centre.
Music was provided on the main stage in King’s Staithe Square courtesy of The Cambridge Waits and lots of other lively bands.
For more information about the Hanse Festival, please visit the official King’s Lynn Hanse Festival website.
The annual ‘Hanse Day’ celebrations in King’s Lynn all began as we know it in 2009 when the Borough Council organised the town’s first ever Hanse Festival (4 years after joining the New Hanse League), and maritime merriment was had by all. During the festival weekend visitors enjoyed the sound of sea shanties and songs of the sea along the quayside, street theatre, an al-fresco food fair, heritage walk and much more maritime merriment. The majestic Lisa von Lubeck, a 15th Century caravel reconstruction, cruised up the River Great Ouse from its port in Lübeck, Germany to greet the crowds on the King’s Lynn quayside.
As seen in the above video, for 2014 the International Hanse Day in King’s Lynn was a massive three-day celebration, with people being entertained by a rich and colourful selection of dance, music, activities for all the family and food & craft markets, culminating with the headlining internationally-renowned classical choral ensemble The Mediaeval Baebes.
Building upon all previous celebrations, next year’s Hanse Day will be the 20 year anniversary since King’s Lynn joined the New Hanse. Organisers are hoping to put on a full, spectacular two-day event to celebrate the historic town’s international connections and rich maritime heritage.
