Description: 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.
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