Since Bögenhafen’s interests have always been commercial, the mercantile elite have always run the town. For most of the town’s history, this has meant the Merchants’ Guild and the families that control it. For many generations the guild—and thus the town—was dominated by four merchant families: Haagen, Ruggbroder, Steinhäger, and Teugen. They were able to control the town council and make sure that the politics and trade of Bögenhafen were favourable to the Merchants’ Guild in general and their families in particular.[1a]