Lübeck’s old town is on an island in the Trave River. This made for excellent defenses against medieval military technology, allowing Lübeck to grow to one of the richest cities in medieval Germany. The old town’s street layout maintained its original medieval grid allowing the whole island to be included on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list. More than a thousand buildings are listed, with the brick Gothic ones particularly impressive. The Dutch gabled style was long favored by the patrician families, and many houses survived.

The preferred entrance to the island is via the causeway behind the Holstentor (Holsten gate). This fortified gate was constructed in the late 15th century more as a prestige than a defensive project. The gate is on the mainland and in front of the actual defensive walls. The gate is of brick, with two thick, round towers. It is the symbol of Lübeck and mostly photographed from the mainland with the steeple of the brick Gothic Petrikirche in the background. However, the façade facing the old town is the more interesting, with more decorations and Romanesque blind arches. The tower now houses a local history museum.

When walking into the town, the Petrikirche (Peter’s Church) is to the right. It apparently offers marvelous views from its tower, but as we visited on a misty, rainy day, even the availability of an elevator could not tempt us to take a peek.

The main sights in Lübeck are either in or directly off Breitestraße, which is at least partly pedestrianized. Parts of the impressive L-shaped Rathaus (Town Hall) date back to 1250. It is mostly a brick Gothic building with open arcades at street level used for market trading. Note the decorative walls that were added to the top of the building to give it a more impressive appearance. The candlesnuffer turrets are a repeating theme in civilian brick Gothic buildings of the Hanseatic towns. (The Rathaus in Stralsund is a particularly good example.) On Breite Straße, the Rathaus has a wonderful late 16th-century Dutch Renaissance external staircase, while the north wing’s Renaissance sandstone façade faces the Market Square. The Hansasaal, where the Hanseatic League met, is inside the Rathaus but can only be seen on a guided tour, which we unfortunately missed by a few minutes.

Behind the Rathaus is the magnificent Marienkirche, and adjacent to it, at Mengstraße 4, is the Buddenbrookhaus. Further down Breite Straße is the Renaissance façade of the Haus der Schiffergeschellschaft (House of the Seamen’s Guild). It now houses a restaurant (reservations highly advisable), but even if not eating here, peek in to see the lovely interior of this former seamen’s tavern.

Across the road is the Jakobikirche, another fine brick Gothic church with particularly interesting woodcarvings. The two organ lofts date from the 16th and 17th centuries. A lifeboat of the Palmir, a Lübeck full-rigged training ship that sank in 1957 with all hands, reminds me of Lübeck’s close connections and long dependence on the sea for its wealth and continued existence.