Handelsjournale

Handelsjournale is a German-language term that historically designates periodicals centered on commerce and trade. The word combines Handels (commerce, trade) with Journale (journals), with Journale reflecting an older spelling influenced by French. In early modern German-speaking Europe, such journals were produced by mercantile guilds, city authorities, or private printers to inform merchants about market developments and commercial affairs.

These publications typically contained market reports, prices for commodities, shipping news, vessel arrivals and departures, insurance rates, and notices of tariffs or regulatory changes. They might also include advertisements, tenders, and notices related to auctions or opportunities for shipments. Often produced as periodic newsletters—monthly, quarterly, or irregularly—they circulated among merchants, brokers, and other members of trading networks, and sometimes existed only as manuscript records in municipal archives.

Today, Handelsjournale as a specific title or uniform class of publication is rarely used. Contemporary German-language business journalism tends to employ terms such as Handelsblatt or Handelszeitung, or generic mercantile newsletters, rather than the historical designation Handelsjournale. The phrase remains of interest to historians and scholars studying the history of the mercantile press and the dissemination of commercial information in German-speaking regions. See also: Handelsblatt, Handelszeitung, mercantile press, economic periodical.