Travel Guide
24 hours in Lubeck
By Sharron Livingston
For your next weekend
jaunt, consider the marzipan capital of Germany,
Lubeck, for a short and very
sweet weekend away.
ts 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, its
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.
St Marys Church
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 Peters) 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.
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
fl attened 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
The Travel Magazine
Holstentor Gate
March 2015
www.thetravelmagazine.net
Must visit
Must check out
The arch of Holstentor is the only
remaining gate of the city. Its 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.
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 Marys 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.
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.
Town Hall
The story goes that when they
were building the church, the devil
stopped by and asked the purpose
of the structure. Builders told him it
was to be a pub. The devil thought he
may have easy pickings for capturing
souls but soon realised he was duped.
The Devil at St. Marys church (c) wikimedia/Stefanie Elder
Must pop in
The 13th century Hospital of the
Holy Spirit in the town centre and
its opulent town hall (das Rathaus)
is a little piece of eye candy worth
having.
Must have lunch
The most famous place to lunch is at
Cafe Niederegger. Try their marzipan
cappucino and marzipan cakes and
sweets.
Niederegger marzipan shop and restaurant
Must dine
Hidden under the arches in the
former cellar of the town hall is
the Ratskeller zu Luebeck, a lovely
vaulted restaurant. Dishes include
potatoe salmon gratin with a
sauerkraut crust and a typically
Lubecker dish of hot smoked rib roast
in a red wine sauce, prunes and a
potatoe-carrot and swede on the side.
There is also Grnkohl, a regional dish
made from kale.
Thomas
Mann
mentions
the
Ratskeller in his book The
Budenbrooks and in his honour one
of the booths is named after him and
contains pictures of the writer and his
school report.
Must not leave without
It would be plain wrong to leave
Lubeck without some marzipan.
Buy some at the huge shop at the
Cafe Niederegger complex. The shop
dazzles with brightly wrapped sweets
and figurines.
www.thetravelmagazine.net/travel-guide24-hours-lubeck-germany.html
Niederegger Cafe
The Travel Magazine
March 2015
www.thetravelmagazine.net
