Abstract. We exploit a notion of interface for Petri nets in order to design a set of net combinators. For such a calculus of nets, we focus on the behavioural congruences arising from four simple notions of behaviour, viz., traces, maximal traces, step, and maximal step traces, and from the corresponding four notions of bisimulation, viz., weak and weak step bisimulation and their maximal versions. We characterize such congruences via universal contexts and via games, providing in such a way an understanding of their discerning powers.