Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [621]
MARKT & AROUND
Sometimes described as a ‘fairy tale in stone’, Lübeck’s 13th- to 15th-century Rathaus (town hall; 122 1005; Breite Strasse; guided tours in German adult/concession €3/1.50; tours 11am, noon & 3pm Mon-Fri) is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful in Germany. Unfortunately, the impact of its facade is diminished by new buildings around the marketplace, which block previously open views. Inside, a highlight is the Audienzsaal (audience hall), a light-flooded hall decked out in festive rococo.
Across the street from the Markt, Café Niederegger ( 530 1126; www.niederegger.de; Breite Strasse 89; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat, 10am-6pm Sun) is Lübeck’s mecca for marzipan lovers, the almond confectionery from Arabia, which has been made in Lübeck for centuries. Even if you’re not buying, the shop’s elaborate foil-wrapped displays (many of them maritime-themed) are a feast for the eyes. In its Marzipan-Salon (admission free) you’ll learn that in medieval Europe marzipan was considered medicine, not a treat. At the back of the shop there’s an elegant cafe Click here.
CHURCHES
Near the Markt rise the 125m twin spires of Germany’s third-largest church, the Marienkirche (Schüsselbuden 13; admission €1; 10am-6pm Apr-Sep, to 5pm Oct, 10am-4pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar). It’s most famous for its shattered bells, which have been left where they fell after a WWII bombing raid, as a peace memorial. Turn left upon entering the church and go to the end of the aisle. Outside there’s a little devil sculpture with an amusing folk tale (in German and English).
Panoramic views over the city unfold from the Petrikirche (Schmiedstrasse; lift adult/concession €2.50/1.50; 9am-9pm Apr-Sep, 10am-7pm Oct-Mar), which has a tower lift to the 7th floor.
The Dom (cathedral; 10am-6pm Apr-Oct, 10am-4pm Nov-Mar) was founded in 1173 by Heinrich der Löwe (Click here) when he took over Lübeck. Locals like to joke that if you approach the Dom from the northeast, you have to go through Hölle (hell) and Fegefeuer (purgatory) – the actual names of streets – to see Paradies, the lavish vestibule to the Dom. Otherwise, the building is quite spartan.
Art lovers will enjoy the towerless Katharinenkirche (cnr Glockengiesserstrasse & Königstrasse; admission free; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun) for its sculptures by Ernst Barlach and Gerhard Marcks, plus The Resurrection of Lazarus by Tintoretto.
COURTYARDS & MEWS
In the Middle Ages, Lübeck was home to numerous craftspeople and artisans. Their presence caused demand for housing to outgrow the available space, so tiny single-storey homes were built in courtyards behind existing rows of houses. These were then made accessible via little walkways from the street.
Almost 90 such Gänge (walkways) and Höfe (courtyards) still exist, among them charitable housing estates built for the poor, the Stiftsgänge and Stiftshöfe. The most famous of the latter are the beautiful Füchtingshof (Glockengiesserstrasse 25; 9am-noon & 3-6pm) and the Glandorps Gang (Glockengiesserstrasse 41-51), which you can peer into.
If you head south along An der Obertrave southwest of the Altstadt, you’ll pass one of Lübeck’s loveliest corners, the Malerwinkel (Painters’ Quarter), where you can take a break on garden benches among blooming flowers, gazing out at the houses and white picket fences across the water.
LITERARY MUSEUMS
There must be something in the water in Lübeck, or maybe it’s all that marzipan. The city has connections to two Nobel Prize–winning authors (as well as Nobel Peace Prize–winning former chancellor Willy Brandt).
The winner of the 1929 Nobel Prize for Literature, Thomas Mann, was born in Lü-beck in 1875 and his family’s former home is now the Buddenbrookhaus ( 122 4190; www.buddenbrookhaus.de; Mengstrasse 4; adult/concession/child under 18yr €5/2.50/2; 11am-6pm Apr-Dec, 11am-5pm Jan-Mar). Named after Mann’s novel of a wealthy Lübeck family in decline, The Buddenbrooks (1901), this award-winning museum is a monument not only to the author of such classics as Der Tod in Venedig (Death in Venice)