Postcards from Lübeck

Published: October 6, 2021

city guides | lubeck | road trips | sights

Lübeck on the north coast of Germany is a historical Hanseatic town with a picture-perfect Old Town, Lübeck Altstadt, located on an island in river Trave. Lübeck, also often referred as the Queen of the Hanseatic cities, was founded back in 1143, and the well preserved, Medieval historic center is full of gorgeous Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Classicist buildings. The whole Hanseatic Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and wandering along the alleys is a wonderful experience! In this post we shortly introduce some of the main sights of the Old Town as picture postcards.

Holstentor gate

Hosltentor gate is probably the best known landmark of Lübeck. This city gate, located on the west side of the Old Town, serves also as a museum, with exhibitions about the history of the town and the Hanseatic trade links that led to the prosperity of Lübeck. Holstentor was one of the four gates to the city, that was surrounded with a strong town wall, that was built to protect the wealth. The handsome twin-towered gate was built in 1464-1478, and besides being part of the defensive wall, it represented the status of the town.

Hosltentor has proudly stood still for centuries, but it’s easy to see that there is considerable inclination, as if the towers were leaning towards each other. This is due to a design error – the structure was built on marshy subsoil, but only the towers were laid on proper foundations. The massive and heavy centre-wing was left without support, causing the towers to sink unevenly into the ground and tilt towards each other.

Salt Storages

Die Salzspeicher, the old salt storage buildings located right next to the Holstentor gate are another historical landmark on the west side of river Trave and the Old Town. Built in Renaissance style between 1579 and 1745n these buildings used to storage salt brought to Lübeck from Lüneburg and from the Oldesloe salt mines. From Lübeck the salt was then exported to all over Scandinavia, and had a high value. Nowadays these Hanseatic buildings are used by a clothing store.

Lübeck Town Hall

Lübecker Rathaus, Lübeck Town Hall, located in the heart of the Old Town, had an important role as a decision-making and meeting centre of the Hanseatic League, as 43 of the 67 annual Hanseatic Days were held in Lübeck. It’s a striking, Gothic style brick structure built in several phases starting in the early 13th century. The impressive facade of the Town Hall, with several towers and round window openings in the shield wall, can be admired from the Marktplatz Lübeck square. Town Hall is still today used as an administrative building and as a venue of the city parliament meetings. Part of the halls are open for guided tours, and there is also a restaurant, called Ratskeller zu Lübeck.

The City of seven Towers

Lübeck is also known as The City of seven Towers, due to seven church towers that dominate the skyline of the Old Town. The Lübeck Cathedral from early 12th century was the first large brick-built church in the whole Baltic region. Like many historical buildings in the Old Town, the cathedral was partly destroyed in the World War II bombings, but reconstructed soon after. Other main churches of the Old Town are the elegant Gothic-style St. Mary’s Church (Marienkirche) and St. Peter’s Church with popular viewing platform.

Medieval streets of the Old Town

An essential part of vising Lübeck is a slow stroll along the narrow medieval streets of the Old Town, admiring the beautiful architecture and details, and stopping for a lunch or drink in one of the restaurant terraces.

We visited Lübeck as a short day trip on our way through Germany to Travemünde port, from where we took a ferry to Finland. Unfortunately we only had time for a short sightseeing tour, which clearly was not enough – we would have loved to stay a bit longer. So tip for your trip, reserve at least one full day for Lübeck!

Have you visited Lübeck, or maybe some other Hanseatic towns in Germany or elsewhere? Share your thoughts in comments!

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