Lübeck was founded in 1143 near the confluence of the Trave River into the Baltic Sea. The historical center is surrounded on all sides by water, which was typical of the Hanseatic League. Lübeck was considered the capital of this medieval association of German trading cities. Now the history of the Hansa is reminiscent of numerous monuments of different eras – from Gothic to Baroque.
Standard of brick gothic
Let’s start our acquaintance with the local sights from the Marienkirche – the most famous temple of Lübeck, built in 1250-1350. The Church of the Virgin Mary is the standard of North German brick Gothic. In 1987, she and other monuments of the Old City were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
city hall
Marienkirche was the temple of the city council of Lübeck, so it is located near the Old Town Hall (Lübecker Rathaus), whose representative facades were supposed to symbolize the wealth of this Hanseatic city and merchant pride. Before us is one of the largest and oldest town halls in Germany.
Merian engraving
This is how the Swiss traveler and engraver Matthäus Merian saw the city in 1641, at the end of the Hansa. The last congress of this union was held here in 1669. After its collapse, the historical center of Lübeck practically stopped changing its appearance, retaining the layout and structure of the Old Town typical of the Hanseatic period, despite the severe destruction of the Second World War.
City Cathedral
In addition to the famous Marienkirche, Merian’s engraving also recognizes other churches in Lübeck. Among them is the city cathedral (Lübecker Dom), a church with two bell towers on the right side. Consecrated in 1247, the cathedral was the first large brick building in the Baltic region. 130 meters – its length is still impressive!
old streets
The streets of the Hanseatic cities led to the water – piers, where boats and ships were loaded or unloaded from them typical goods for this trade union: salt, cloth, other fabrics, herring, grain, beer, wine, Russian furs and wax. The streets were not straight, so that in the event of a siege and assault, they would not be shot through. The width of the roadway depended on the size of the carts – for one carriage or cart, or so that two could pass.
Gateway without a gate
In the old center of Lübeck, numerous through narrow passages (Gänge), similar to loopholes, were made between the streets and courtyards. They are numbered, there are about a hundred of them. These passages were intended for workers in shops and workshops, who lived in the so-called booths that merchants and wealthy artisans built in the courtyards behind the facades of their own houses.
Hanseatic charity
A special place in the structure of the Hanseatic cities was occupied by farmsteads for the poor (Stiftshof) – social housing for widows, the disabled and other needy. Their founders were rich and respected townspeople, which corresponded to the traditions of Hanseatic charity. Some of these farmsteads are still used in accordance with the will of the founders.
Holy Spirit Hospital
Lübeck is also home to one of the oldest functioning social institutions in the world, the Holy Spirit Hospital (Heilig-Geist-Hospital), built by merchants in 1268. This Hanseatic hospital was a hospital and hostel for the poor. It belongs to the most important architectural monuments of Lübeck. There is still a nursing home here.
Skipper Society
Opposite the Hospital of the Holy Spirit is one of the most famous historical restaurants in the city. It is located in the building of the Skipper Society (Schiffergesellschaft) – founded at the beginning of the 15th century, the brotherhood of merchant ship captains of Lübeck. Its hall resembles a museum with models of sailboats and other exhibits – documents, maps, portraits. There is even a diploma signed by Nicholas II.
brick architecture
A typical building material of the Hanseatic cities in the area of the Baltic and North Seas was brick – due to the lack of sufficient reserves of stone in these places. In Lübeck, Stralsund or Wismar, European architectural styles found their brick embodiment not only in the Gothic era, but also later – up to brick expressionism at the beginning of the last century.
brick renaissance
Among the most photographed sights in Lübeck are the Salt Stores (Salzspeicher). Their construction on the banks of the Trave began in 1579 during the Renaissance. Initially, salt from Lüneburg was stored here – the main source of wealth of Lübeck, whose merchants sold it throughout Northern Europe. Water excursions now begin from the pier opposite the Salt warehouses. A boat trip around the historic center of Lübeck lasts about an hour – past the facades of old merchant houses, shady parks and embankments, modern piers and old sailboats.
Holstentor
A few steps from the Salt Stores is the main architectural symbol of Lübeck – the Holstein Gate (Holstentor). Built in the late Gothic style in 1478, they were part of the system of its fortifications. The gates are among the most famous German landmarks. Their image adorned the 50-mark bill of the 1962 model. The fortification system of Lübeck was one of the most powerful in Northern Europe. The city council decided to demolish the fortifications in 1803, when Lübeck was guaranteed neutrality as part of the territorial reorganization of Napoleonic times.
Artist’s corner
At the beginning of the 20th century, this view of the Old Town became a classic motif for local and visiting photographers. The lawn from which it opens was then called the Artists’ Corner (Malerwinkel).
Trading traditions
In the neighborhood, on the way to the Old Town, cars and pedestrians are greeted by the god of trade Hermes himself, reminiscent of the Hanseatic traditions of Lübeck, which are still carefully stored here. Thomas Mann, one of the three Nobel laureates whose names are associated with Lübeck, dedicated his novel “The Buddenbrooks. The Story of the Death of a Family” to just such a merchant dynasty.
Buddenbrook House
In this novel, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Literature, Thomas Mann described his childhood home, located near the town hall and the temple of the Virgin Mary. Today it houses the Museum of Heinrich and Thomas Mann – “Buddenbrook House” (Buddenbrookhaus). Lübeck also hosts special walking tours of the locations of their works.
Günther Grass
Günter Grass, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1999, was born in Danzig (Gdansk), and he lived and worked near Lübeck since 1986. In 2002, in one of the houses of the Old Town, his museum was opened – Günter-Grass-Hauswhich exhibits manuscripts and letters, as well as drawings, paintings and sculptures created by Grasse.
Willy Brandt
Günther Grass had a close friendship with Willy Brandt, the German Social Democratic Chancellor and Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was born and raised in Lübeck. On the initiative of Grass, his museum was opened in a neighboring building in 2007 – Willy-Brandt-Haus Lübeck. The exposition is devoted to the biography and political activities of Brandt, and a fragment of the Berlin Wall is installed in the courtyard.