The
Hanseaten is a collective term for the hierarchy group (so called
First Families) consisting of elite individuals and families of prestigious rank who constituted the
ruling class of the
free imperial city of
Hamburg, conjointly with the equal
First Families of the free imperial cities
Bremen and
Lübeck. The members of these
First Families were the persons in possession of hereditary
grand burghership (German:
Großbürgerschaft) of these cities, including the
mayors (
Bürgermeister), the
senators (
Senatoren) and the senior
pastors (
Hauptpastoren).
Hanseaten refers specifically to the ruling families of Hamburg, Lübeck and Bremen, but more broadly, this group is also referred to as
patricians along with similar social groups elsewhere in continental Europe.