City of Lubeck in northern Germany
Lubeck, the second largest
city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, served as the capital of
the Hanseatic League. Sited on the Trave River, it is the largest German
port city on the Baltic Sea. Its old town is a well-preserved ensemble of
churches, merchants' homes, narrow alleyways and warehouses that have
been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
The old town of Lubeck, the
heart of the city, is dominated by church steeples, showing how wealthy
it once was and including the Cathedral (Dom), St Mary's (Marienkirche);
St Peter's (Petrikirche); St Aegidien's (Aegidienkirche) in the
craftsmen's district and St Jacob's (Jakobikirche), the seafarers'
church. The oldest, the Dom and the Marienkirche date back to the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Also in this area are the
Stiftshofe (almshouses), founded by rich merchants, as well as all of the
major museums, including the St-Annenmuseum, Behnhaus, Gunter Grass Haus,
Museumkirche St Katherinen, Buddenbrookhaus, the Volkerhundesammlyng
(ethnology), Museum fur Natur und Umwelt (nature and the environment),
Lubecker Theaterfigurenmuseum (theatrical puppets) and the Holstentor
(the history of the city).
The old town's many narrow
lanes and alleys are lined by Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Classical
town houses with red-brick, gabled facades. The impressive Town Hall (Rathaus),
still in use, and the Art Nouveau Stadttheater, the
Heiligen-Geist-Hospital and the Schiffergesellschaft can also be found
here. The sounds of Brahms and Mozart sometimes float through the windows
of the Hochschule fur Musik (college of music), lending another layer to
the city's already heady European charms.
Boat trips round the beautiful
harbor - the origin of the city's wealth and power - leave from the
Holsten bridge (Holstenbrucke), opposite the old Salzspeicher (salt
warehouses).
