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Lübeck - o.t. photo

Lübeck - a.g. photo

Lübeck - Krista photo

“Many people don’t even think of Lübeck when planning a trip to Germany, simply because it’s so far off in the north. They are mistaken to dismiss it. While it is indeed a northerly destination, lovers of relaxing strolls and medieval architecture can spend pleasant days here, and there are far fewer tourists than in Southern Germany.

The old town is a wonderful place for a romantic stroll, and beneath the steeply roofed, two-story, red brick houses there are many cafés with outdoor seating, just waiting to welcome you for an enjoyable pause. It’s easy to find reasonably priced accommodation, and there are also some less expensive restaurants. When exploring the city, it’s worth starting at the old harbor, where houses which line the shore are pristinely maintained, still capturing the atmosphere of the days when Lübeck was feared for the severity of its harbormasters, who directed and cleared all merchant shipping which passed into and out of the Baltic.

The Harbor Museum is located by the harbor, and you can admire more than 20 original sailing ships from different periods. Small tourist boats leave from the harbor and sail around the center of the city, which is on an island. The old town of Lübeck is famous for its large churches and Gothic brick architecture. Thanks, among much else, to its distinctive architectural style, known as Backsteingotic, or baked-brick Gothic, the old town is listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site.


Practicals

Transport

Visiting Lübeck's Old Town requires no means of transport other than our feet. For other parts of the city, like the surrounding settlements, Travemünde ("Daughter of the Baltic Sea") the public transportation is excellent.

Lübeck - hybrid electric bus - the future - a.g. photo

Food

There are a huge range of seafood restaurants, since Lübeck, after all, is a port city. Cod in mustard sauce is one of the local specialties, but prawn and herring also feature prominently on local menus. The restaurants with the best atmosphere are in the old Hanseatic merchant buildings. The Schiffergesellschaft (or shippers’ society) restaurant is a local favorite, and one of the oldest in the city. It used to be a club for ship captains. The Kartofelkeller, or potato cellar, is also a great place – highly recommended!

The Café Niederegger is not just a patisserie, but the home and birthplace of a dessert staple – marzipan! In Germany, many associate marzipan with Lübeck, and it dominates the old-style tearoom in the Café Niederegger, but they also have a lot of other wonderful sweets, such as walnut cake. It’s so popular that it’s almost always full. The address is Breitestrasse 89. By the way, in Lübeck they still manufacture marzipan under the name Niederegger Lübeck, and you can find it across Europe and even further afield. The marzipan factory produces at least 300 different products. The top floor of the Niederegger café is a marzipan museum.

Legend has it that marzipan was first made by accident, when a famine in the 15th century left the city in a desperate situation. According to a story of dubious authenticity, the city ran out of everything except sugar and almonds, and marzipan loaves were made from these to ingredients to avert starvation. A more credible explanation is that marzipan is originally a Persian delicacy, and crusaders brought the recipe with them when they returned from the Middle East. It was known as a luxury dessert for many years, as sugar was such an expensive commodity. The Niederegger family only began producing marzipan at the beginning of the 18th century.

Shopping

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Lübeck - Hüxstrasse - shopping street when almost empty - b.s. photo

Fun

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Lübeck - l.v. photo

Public safety

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Lübeck - Police - a.h. photo

Others

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Lübeck - view - r.g. photo

Lübeck - Krista photo

Lübeck - a.g. photo

Lübeck - historic house facade - j.s. photo

Lübeck - Niederegger Arcade - s.n. photo

Background

Lübeck - r.g. photo

Lübeck - o.g. photo

Destination in brief

Lübeck (full name: Hanseatic City of Lübeck) is in the north of Germany.

Population (in 2020): 222,000 - the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein (Kiel is the first)

Lübeck is the largest German port city on the Baltic Sea.
The Old Town is on an island surrounded by the River Lübeck, the Trave, and the Elbe-Lübeck Canal.

History

Unlike many other German cities, Lübeck did not suffer much in World War II. It was just a bomb attack, and it didn’t do too fatal damage. Strangely, Lübeck was the first German city bombed by the British Air Force (in 1942), but later no more airstrikes were launched here. However, in that sole attack, two hundred thirty-four planes dropped about 400 tons of bombs and 25 thousand incendiary devices on Lübeck.




Lübeck - Schiffergesellschaft - historic seafarers' guild hall (16th century) - r.g. photo

Lübeck - an alley of the Old Town - m.g. photo

Nowadays

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Lübeck - City Hall - Breite Strasse - a.r. photo

Attractions

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Lübeck - Heiligen-Geist-Hospital - e.v. photo

Lübeck - St. Jakobi, an Evengelical church - r.h. photo

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