Lübeck: The old town of the Hanseatic city on an island

After getting a good night's sleep, I set off for the city without any rush. However, my legs were a bit sore from cycling too much in the past few days, so I decided to take the bus.  

Over 200,000 people live in Lübeck, but most tourists particularly visit the old town, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987. As always, I let myself be carried along by the crowd of people and the visually appealing attractions. My first stop was the marketplace right behind the bus stop and the town hall (Image 1: Town hall. In Image 5, you can see the back of it). What caught my attention quickly was the mix of very old buildings from the 13th to 16th century and constructions that have emerged since the 1950s. Obviously, the Second World War caused significant destruction here as well. Behind the town hall stands one of the five Gothic churches in the city, St. Mary's Church. In general, the church towers are very dominant in the cityscape. 

At St. Mary's Church, I showed my sympathy for the devil. In Image 2, you can read the unique story of the devil, a stone, St. Mary's Church, and a wine cellar. In Image 3, you can see us both, and in Image 4, the stone that lies directly in front of the former wine cellar.  

My stroll through the streets then led me to a summer garden that attracted me. Many colorful flowers, bushes, herbs, and so much more, with places to sit in between – I found the tranquility and atmosphere so delightful that I settled into a beach chair and spent about an hour reading my historical pirate book and relaxing (Image 6).

Directly opposite the summer garden stands a building that fascinated me. Normally, I avoid the interiors of churches, but I had to enter this one since, in the Middle Ages, this place was the Holy Spirit Hospital. This undoubtedly sparked my imagination and I wanted to see what a hospital would look like at that time. Image 7 gives you a small temporal context and explanation, Image 8 is a room, and Image 9 shows the 'ward.' If anyone wants to know more about it: https://www.luebeck-tourismus.de/altstadt/heiligen-geist-hospital 

One of my goals I had already passed during the bus ride; it is the city’s landmark and was featured on the 50 DM bill until 1991. I also remember it from my youth from postage stamps. Those of you who are older might have an idea… the Holsten Gate. On my way in that direction, I passed a guild alley where different gangs used to live (Image 10; the bakers' gang) and also the canal that, along with the Trave River, surrounds the old town island (Image 11). After that, I visited the Holsten Gate (Image 12). The motto of the city is inscribed on the Holsten Gate: “Concordia domi foris pax” – Harmony within, peace outside. 

Since I hadn't quite reached my step count and still felt fit, I walked back to a town house that served as the backdrop for a film based on a very famous literary family story by Thomas Mann (for which he received the Nobel Prize in Literature; one of the main actors in the adaptation is Armin Müller-Stahl, who currently has an exhibition at Moyland Castle). It depicts the decline of a fictional Hanseatic merchant family in the 19th century. (Image 13: the house is currently being remodeled/expanded). If you don’t know which family it is: check out Image 14).

Hungry, I snuck through the alleys until I found a restaurant with a familiar name: Ohana (Image 15), which I know from New Zealand, but originally comes from the indigenous people of Hawaii, meaning family (or actually nest). There, I had a veggie burger, drank a passion fruit and a mango spritzer, and then made my way to the bus. 

At the bus stop, I found a display that made me ponder: 'The Hanse brought fine silk and the plague' (Image 16). I thought that the profit from silk sales benefitted the merchants while the costs of their actions, here the shipping of the plague, were imposed upon the people. Well, I didn’t want to think too much, as in the meantime I spotted unicorns (Image 17).

Now it’s time to prepare the bed and get ready for departure towards Fehmarn and Malmö – good night.   

If you want to learn more about Lübeck: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCbeck