For your next weekend jaunt, consider the marzipan capital of Germany, Lubeck, for a short and very sweet weekend away.
It’s quaint, compact with just enough compelling sights to squeeze into 24 hours. Yet Lubeck tends to be overlooked as a weekend jaunt. The old town is enveloped by the river Trave and connected to the mainland by bridges. At just 82 square miles, it’s smallish, yet it is a major port that gives over to the Baltic Sea. Everywhere you venture there are Gothic and tall ex mercantile buildings and evidence of a long history spanning the best part of a millennium.
For centuries Lubeck was autonomous. It had a leading role as one of the founders of the Hanseatic League and was dubbed “Queen of the Hanse”. World War II saw it flattened during an RAF raid but its medieval glory was so well restored that Unesco gave it World Heritage Site recognition.
And best of all – and not a lot of people know this – Lubeck is the marzipan capital of Germany. Generations of the Niederegger family have been producing this almond based confection and you can enjoy it at its source.
So just how best to enjoy this intriguing city?
Must See the View
Any tour (walking of course) should start by a peep at the skyline. It is punctuated with a crown formation of seven spires that belong to red brick churches. Nipping to the top of the Petrikirche (St Peter’s) church means enjoying a lovely eyefull of the town, its red-brick churches whose spires prick the sky, and over the Baltic. You can get your orientation too. The cathedral (der Dom) in the distance marks the edge of the old town.
Must Visit
The arch of Holstentor is the only remaining gate of the city. It’s worth taking a moment to note three things things about this veritable landmark: Firstly, it has a pair of bloated towers that appear to lean slightly inwards holding up a three-tiered gable. This is an image captured by Andy Warhol and you can see the original inside its museum.
Secondly, note the Latin inscription “concordia domi foris pax” which means “harmony at home and peace abroad”. This is the philosophy that explains why the city would not give Hitler permission to campaign there in 1932. In 1937 he punished the city by ending their autonomy.
And thirdly. in the museum is an unsettling plaque which states – ironically – that this gate was restored by the Nazis before the last war.
Must Try to Spot
Amid the cobbled streets and gabled medieval homes, there are tiny entrances and easy-to-miss narrow alleys. These lead to incredible hidden squares surrounded by pretty homes. They look just about big enough for hobbits to live in, yet they are prime real estate.
Must Check Out
Writer Thomas Mann hails from here – his novel Buddenbrooks was set in 19th-century Lubeck. You can still see his home right next door the 13th century Gothic Marienkirche (aka St Mary’s Church). The latter has the tallest spire in the city and a museum. It is a major symbol of power of the old Hanseatic city on the highest point of Lubeck. If you walk around it you will come across a small statue of a devil.
Copyright © 2015 by The Travel Magazine. This article was written by Sharron Livingston and originally published on thetravelmagazine.net.
