In 2023, the Hanseatic Year is organised. A year in which we give extra meaning to 800 years of Hanseatic thought. Yesterday, today and the future meet in the 9 Hanseatic cities in the eastern Netherlands: Doesburg, Zutphen, Deventer, Hattem, Zwolle, Hasselt, Kampen, Elburg and Harderwijk.

From the rich Hanseatic history, new solutions are being devised for today and tomorrow. And in doing so, ambition and guts are shown, as the Hanseatic towns and their inhabitants have been doing for more than 800 years. With the Hanseatic Year, together with our entrepreneurs and residents, we have created momentum and dynamism in 2023.

In doing so, we used our common history even more as a source of inspiration, as a basis for a solid future. Connection and cooperation have made us great and are also the basis for the future. We ensure that we are proud as makers/entrepreneurs and inhabitants of the Hanseatic cities. Proud of our history and proud of what that history has brought us: our 9 Dutch Hanseatic Cities.

During the Hanseatic Year, the Hanseatic ideology is made visible, experienceable and integral as a booster and impulse for economic development, a vital living environment and for

growth of pride among residents.

We made and celebrated the Hanseatic Year together. The interpretation comes about through our own initiatives and allows residents to think and act in an inclusive way. The Hanseatic Year creates a stronger bond and more awareness of the Hanseatic past.

'Colour the Hanse' is the final overarching event of the Hanseatic Year 2023 and is a collaborative light art piece that invites young and old to express themselves in the city. This is done by colouring in a colouring page and projecting it in a spectacular way on the life-size buildings in the city. Colour the hanze breathes diversity and inclusion and is accessible to all.  

The event Colour the Hanse is combi of ultimate resident participation and resident engagement.