Medieval Sights, Museums, and Churches in the Old Town
Altstadt Lübeck is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage-listed site famous for the finest brick-Gothic architecture in Germany. However, Lübeck has many sights in addition to the Marienkirche, Rathaus, Holstentor, and Buddenbrookhaus.
photo credit: jonmcalister
The top sightseeing sites in Lübeck in Northern Germany’s Baltic Coast are the Holstentor, brick-Gothic Rathaus and Marienkirche, Café Niederegger, as well as the Buddenbrookhaus. However, there are many other sights worth seeing too. The narrow, medieval alleys of Lübeck’s island-based old town are literally littered with brick-Gothic marvels.
- Lübeck can also be written Luebeck – Lubeck is understood easily enough but spelt (and pronounced) wrong.
Brick-Gothic Sights in Lübeck’s Northern Old Town Area
- Renaissance Schiffersgesellschaft Restaurant in Lübeck
The Schiffergesellschaft (Seamen’s Guild) is one of the most popular restaurants in Lübeck. It is at the far northern end of the Altstadt island in a building with a 1535 Renaissance brick facade. This tavern has a rough wooden interior with brass fittings as befits a former seamen’s guild hall. Lunch hour is a good time to arrive, preferably armed with reservations (tel 0451-76-776).
- Lesser-Known Lübeck Brick Gothic Churches
Across the road is the 14th-century brick-Gothic Jakobikirche. With so much competition in Lübeck on the brick-Gothic front, the main attraction in the Jakobikirche is not the architecture but rather the splendidly carved 16th-century organ lofts.
Nearby is one of the oldest social institutions in Europe, the 13th-century brick-Gothic Heiligen-Geist Hospital (Holy Ghost Hospice). It has an impressive Gothic hall and large 14th-century wall paintings.
A long block down Königstraße is the Museumskirche St Katherinen (Museum Church St Catherine’s). The interior of this 14th-century brick-Gothic church is now used as an art museum filled with modern sculptures.
- Günther Grass in Lübeck
Down Glockengießerstraße are several Höfe und Gänge (Courtyards and Passages) – social housing erected by wealthy Lübecker during the 17th century for the poor and elderly. At No 21 is the Günther Grass Haus – a museum dedicated to the drawings, paintings, and sculptures of Günther Grass, generally more famous for his writing. Born in Danzig, Grass had to fled his home town after the Second World War and spent many years in Lübeck. His best-known work, Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum), published in 1959, tells the story of a a boy and later man who had to leave Danzig after the war. Grass was awarded the Nobel price for literature in 1999. He was severely criticized for waiting until 2006 to acknowledged that he was a member of the Waffen SS during the Second World War.
Brick-Gothic Sights in Lübeck’s Southern Old Town Area
The sights in the southern part of the Lübecker Altstadt draw generally see fewer visitors than the center and northern parts of town. The brick-Gothic Dom (Cathedral) is the oldest building in Lübeck. Its core is 12th-century Romanesque but this is well hidden by the 14th-century brick-Gothic makeover. The artistic highlights are the 13th-century Paradise Portal and a Late Gothic crucifix. The Dom should not be confused with the better known Marienkirche in the center of the Old Town.
Nearby, in a former monastery, is the St Annen Museum. It houses religious art from the Middle Ages to the present with the works from the 15th and 16th centuries particularly impressive.
Closer to the Rathaus and Holstentor is the Petrikirche. The original Romanesque basilica received a Gothic makeover and two additional naves during the 14th century. The Petrikirche was virtually destroyed during the Second World War but reconstructed and most conveniently, an elevator was added to hoist visitors up to the best viewing platform in Lübeck.
Traveling to Lübeck in Schleswig-Holstein, Northern Germany
By Air to Lübeck
Lübeck-Blankensee Flughafen (LBC Airport), just south of town is the most convenient airport for travelers to Lübeck. LBC, however, is only used by low-cost airlines Ryanair and Wizzair. Most passengers have to travel via Hamburg Airport.
By Rail & Bus to Lübeck
- Hamburg can be reach in an hour from Lübeck Hauptbahnhof by at least hourly direct trains.
- Hourly trains to Kiel take just over an hour.
- From Berlin, two daily buses on the Berlin Linien Bus take just less than four hours to Lübeck. Trains from Berlin to Lübeck are frequent but require transfers and are only marginally faster than the bus (and usually more expensive).
See Also:
- Top Sights in Lübeck (Holstentor, Rathaus, Marienkirche, Buddenbrook, Niederegger)
