Discoveries on the Way to Meck-Pomm: Lübeck

The first time that I saw Lübeck was returning from a trip to Copenhagen in 1991 (the year that I worked in Germany). I remember seeing the Holstentor (the main gate to Lübeck) from the train. It was impressive, but not impressive enough to make me go back to visit. Boy was I wrong. Walking through the streets of Lübeck is a delight. Perhaps my favorite city in Germany. Certainly on any short list of favorites.

The Lúbeck Altstadt (old town) sits on an island in Trave. It was the capital of the Hanseatic League, the cartel of German and Dutch cities that controlled north-south trade routes in the 13th to 17th centuries. It has maintained much of the medieval character as befitting an important harbor town during this period. The preferred building material was brick, red or glazed black (stone quarries don't exist in the low lands near the ocean), giving the city a feel of architectural unity.

The Hostentor on the west side of the city, was build between 1469 and 1479. It was the second gate of the main entry through the city's perimeter walls (it actually predate the building of the walls). Now it stands in the middle of a small park at the end of the main bridge into the city. Like many of the medieval brick buildings in Lübeck, the Hostentor has quite a lean to it today. Still it is among the most famous buildings in Germany, and so use to be on the 50 deutschmark bill.

The Rathaus (city hall) dating from 1250 sits between the Markplatz and Breite Straße, the main pedestrian shoping street in Lübeck. On Breite Straße across from the Rathaus is Cafe Niederegger, a Mecca for lovers of marzipan (like me).

Marienkirche is the largest, and oldest brick Gothic churches in Germany. It was started in 1250 and was used as a model for 40 some brick Gothic churches in North Germany. The church was bombed in 1942, starting a fire that burned the supports for the bells. This caused the bells to soften by the heat of the fire and to fall from the bell tower.The partially melted bells remain today where they fell in 1942 at the base of the south tower, a reminder to the horror of war.

Next to the church is the Buddenbrookhaus. This house was owned by the grandfather of Heinrich and Thomas Mann. The brothers were frequent guests in the house in their youth. Thomas Mann used the house in his famous book Buddedbrooks about the rise and fall of a patrician family in Lübeck.

Henry the Lion laid the corner stone of the Romanesque Cathedral in 1173. The cathedral was finished in 1230. Henry the Lion was the Duke of Saxony from 1140 to 1180 and Duke of Bavaria from 1156 to 1180. In addition to founding Lübeck, he is credited with the founding of Munich, Lüneburg and Braunschweig. The 'Paraise', the Gothic entrance way to the north trancept was added in 1260. In the interior of the church is a large Gothic Crucifix made between 1470 and 1477. The south tower has a noticeably southern lean to it. Two large steel beams connecting the north and south towers have been added to prevent further leaning. I haven't found anything that explains to the reason for this lean. My speculation would be that it is connected with the bombing of 1942 that damaged east and north sections of the church. Reconstruction was delayed several years because priority was given to Marienkirche. It was finished in 1982.

Two other churches worth noting are the Katharinenkirche and Petrikirche. The 14th centruy facade of Katharinenkirche contain rows of niches that hold statues. The first three left of the lowest row of niches hold statues made by Ernst Barlach, a late 19th to early 20th century expressionist sculptor, printmaker and writer. Petrikirche has an elevator that takes the visitor to an observation tower in the top of the tower, offering fantastic views of the city.

But this list of sights does not do justice to the feeling one gets just meandering the small winding streets of this ancient city with their brick row houses. Or setting at a table in an outdoor cafe along the Trave, watching the boaters while the city towers are reflected off the still waters of the river. It is a truly beautiful city.

Frannie's favorite thing was the park that had been created where one of the city wall use to stand. The city invites people to let their dogs run off leash in this park, a rarity in Germany.

Interestingly, shortly after we returned from our vacation, the New York Times Travel Section had an article about Lübeck. Click here to take a look at their advice.