ABSTRACT
The northeast part of the Federal Republic of Germany is known to have been settled by Slavic tribes after the folk migration. In the innermost corner of Liibeck Bay, the Lubeck basin, the settlement areas of some subtribes of the Obotrites were to be found side by side: that of the Wagria in the north, that of the Polabes in the south, and that of the Obotrites, in the strict sense of the word, in the east. The Old Liibeck stronghold, which according to dendrochronology was erected in 819, lay at the crossroads of the long-distance trade and shipping routes and was already by that stage a trading centre, as shown by imports dating from the Carolingian period. While the Lubeck basin was regaining its former political importance, the older stronghold, Bucu, located on the land-bridge and probably dating back as far as the 8th century, was extended once again.
