Day 01
Hidden Gems, Marzipan, and Historic Hotspots of Lübeck
- We will begin our tour at the landmark Holstentor city gate, built in the 15th century. Making our way along the Trave river for a beautiful view of the skyline dominated by the seven church spires, we will stroll to the historic salt warehouses. We will see the pleasure boats and historic ships in the harbour, and the guide will explain the Gothic red brick architecture Lübeck is famous for.
- Next, we will explore the old salt trade quarter, starting with learning about the lives of wealthy families in their patrician houses as we stroll down the cobblestoned streets to see some stunning examples on Große Petersgrube. Each house has a different gable and façade from different periods and in different architectural styles such as Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Classicism.
- This tour will also take us to admire some of the hidden courtyard cottages where poor people once lived. Today, they are lovingly restored idyllic homes and peaceful retreats with beautiful gardens.
- As we explore the turf of the rich and poor, the guide will tell you more about Lübeck during the Second World War, as miraculously only 20% of the old town was destroyed in the 1942 bomb attack. Learn how Lübeck took in 90,000 refugees in 1945 and defied Hitler in 1932 when he visited to campaign.
- Then, walking past St. Peter's Gothic church with its observation platform, we will make our way to admire the sweetest part of Lübeck - the one where the famous marzipan sweets originated.
- After a quick visit to see the magnificent historic Town Hall, where we learn about the time when Lübeck was the leader of the Hanseatic League of Merchants and housed the Supreme Court of this merchants' association, we will go to the traditional Lübeck Marzipan headquarters to learn more about Lübeck's decadent confections. Your sweet tooth is bound to be activated as we marvel at what the Great Gourmet Marzipan Showroom, with its life-size marzipan figures and coffee salon, has to offer.
- We will also pass by the Buddenbrook House, once the home of the Mann family, described in the novel for which Thomas Mann received the Nobel Prize in 1929. The museum inside is closed for refurbishment, but the façade of this patrician house is stunning.
- We will end our tour at St. Mary's Church, the first brick-built Gothic church completed in 1350 and a model for 70 other churches in the Baltic region with its grand Gothic construction. It has a beautiful organ, one of the largest mechanically operated in the world, once played by the composer Johann Sebastian Bach, with nearly 9,000 pipes. But that's not all the church is famous for - the guide will tell you how the devil helped build it! You may even get to share a close encounter with the devil himself, whom one can find sitting right outside the church entrance. He loves being photographed!
- Before we say our final goodbyes, the guide will give you some tips on how to buy or order some of the specialities of Lübeck so you can enjoy them at home: sumptuous marzipan, Rotspohn red wine, sugar-covered flower petal candies, marzipan gin, nougat to die for, to name but a few.
