Lübeck

Hanseatic City of Lübeck
UNESCO-World Heritage since 1987


Lübeck, Queen of the Hanseatic League, was founded in 1143 as the first ”western city on the Baltic coast“. The medieval atmosphere and historically important cultural sights shape the face of the city and testify to Lübeck’s great past as a Free Imperial and Hanseatic City.

The picturesque oval Old Town, surrounded by water, contains some of Germany’s most important brick Gothic buildings. The spires of the seven churches have dominated the city skyline ever since the Middle Ages.

The Holsten Gate, the former western gate in the city walls, is known throughout the world and is now the symbol of the city. The Buddenbrookhaus, home of the grandparents of writers Heinrich and Thomas Mann, is one of many stately merchant houses in the city.

Lübeck was the first Old Town in the Federal Republic of Germany to be officially designated a cultural heritage site. The heritage status even extends to the ground beneath the old town, where archaeological excavations have unearthed almost three million finds.

Route Suggestion
From Bremen via Lübeck, Wismar to Stralsund