Map of Hypothesized Scandinavian Potato Dumpling Zones: http://fft.dhinitiative.org/neatline-exhibits/show/pitepalt

      If the historic German klöße is related to the potato dumplings of Scandinavia, then it is important to investigate the trade routes between the two regions. Throughout the 13th to 17th centuries, Scandinavian cities were involved in the trade routes of the German Hansa League, which was centered around Lübeck³¹. Scandinavia traded mostly timber, herring, and butter for German grains such as wheat, which would have been included in some early flour-based dumplings³¹.   Since forms of klöße emerged in northern Germany during the Middle Ages, late hanseatic trade might have spread an early form of the klöße dumpling from Germany to Scandinavia. As labeled below, the Scandinavian regions of Bergen and Öland would have been easily accessible for Hansa League trading, so perhaps this is why these regions mark the site of origin for the raspeball and kroppkaka, respectively. Interestingly, the Hansa league often forbade trade with England, which never developed klöße-type dumplings like those found in Scandinavia. Even after the decline of the Hansa league, Scandinavians still maintained trade with northern Germany. During the subsequent 17th and 18th centuries, the Swedish empire extended throughout the Baltic Sea and parts of Northern Germany³¹. Therefore, the ancestors of the Swedish pitepalt and kroppkaka may have been introduced from Germany during the era of mercantilism.