Lübeck (; or ;
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
: ), officially the
Hanseatic
The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...
City of Lübeck (), is a city in
Northern Germany
Northern Germany (, ) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city-states Hambur ...
. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German
Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
*Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...
coast and the second-largest city in the state of
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...
, after its capital of
Kiel
Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...
. It is the
36th-largest city in Germany.
The city lies in the
Holsatian part of Schleswig-Holstein, on the mouth of the
Trave
The Trave () is a river in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is approximately long, running from its source near the village of Gießelrade in Ostholstein to Travemünde, where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It passes through Bad Segeberg, Bad Old ...
, which flows into the
Bay of Lübeck in the borough of
Travemünde, and on the Trave's tributary
Wakenitz. The island with the historic old town and the districts north of the Trave are also located in the historical region of
Wagria. Lübeck is the southwesternmost city on the Baltic Sea, and the closest point of access to the Baltic from
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
. The city lies in the
Holsatian dialect area of
Low German
Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...
.
The name ''Lübeck'' ultimately stems from the
Slavic root ('love-'). Before 819,
Polabian Slavs
Polabian Slavs, also known as Elbe Slavs
and more broadly as Wends, is a collective term applied to a number of Lechites, Lechitic (West Slavs, West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern Germany. The ...
founded a settlement which they called
Liubice on the mouth of the
Schwartau
Schwartau is a river of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixtee ...
into the Trave. Since the 10th century, Liubice was the second-most important settlement of the
Obotrites after
Starigard. Lübeck was granted
Soest city rights in 1160, and, in 1260, it became an
immediate city within the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
. In the middle of the 12th century, Lübeck developed into the cradle of the
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...
, of which it was considered the de facto capital and most important city from then on. The
Lübeck law was eventually adopted by around 100 cities in the
Baltic region
The Baltic Sea Region, alternatively the Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim), and the Baltic Sea countries/states, refers to the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, including parts of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. Un ...
. Lübeck could preserve its status as an independent city, which it held since 1226,
until 1937.
Lübeck's historic old town, located on a densely built-up island, is Germany's most extensive
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
.
With six church towers surpassing , Lübeck is the city with the
highest number of tall church towers worldwide. Nicknamed the "City of the Seven Towers" (), Lübeck's skyline is dominated by the seven towers of its five
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
main churches:
St Mary's,
Lübeck Cathedral,
St James',
St Peter's, and
St Giles's. The
cathedral
A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
, constructed in various stages between 1173 and 1335, was the first large
brickwork
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called '' courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall.
Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by ...
church in the Baltic region. St Mary's Church, built between 1265 and 1351, is considered the model on which most of the other
Brick Gothic
Brick Gothic (, , ) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Baltic region, Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resources of standing rock (though Glacial erratic, ...
churches in the sphere of influence of the Hanseatic League are based. It is the second-tallest church with two main towers after
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...
(which only surpassed it in 1880), has the tallest brick
vault, and is the second-tallest brickwork structure after
St. Martin's Church in
Landshut
Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, on the banks of the Isar, River Isar. Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state (government), Free State of Bavaria, and the seat of the surrou ...
.
Lübeck is home to the
University of Lübeck with its
University Medical Center Schleswig Holstein, the
Technical University of Applied Sciences Lübeck, and the
Lübeck Academy of Music. There are 18 museums in Lübeck, among which the
European Hansemuseum, Lübeck Museum Port, and the
Niederegger Marzipan Museum, dedicated to the culinary specialty the city is best known,
Lübeck Marzipan. Due to their southwestern location, Travemünde and the nearby seaside resorts of Niendorf,
Timmendorfer Strand,
Scharbeutz, Haffkrug,
Sierksdorf, and
Grömitz are among Germany's most visited.
Lübeck Main Station is located on the railway line connecting continental Europe (Hamburg) to
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
(
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
) via the future
Fehmarn Belt fixed link. The port of Lübeck is the second-largest German port on the Baltic Sea after the
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...
of
Rostock
Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...
, and the in Travemünde is Germany's most important ferry port, with connections to Scandinavia and the
Baltic countries. The city has its own
regional airport at Lübeck-Blankensee, while nearby
Hamburg Airport serves as Lübeck's main air hub.
History
Humans settled in the area around what today is Lübeck after the
last Ice Age ended about 9700 BCE. Several
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
dolmen
A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...
s can be found in the area.
Around 700 AD,
Slavic people
The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and N ...
s started moving into the eastern parts of
Holstein
Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany.
Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...
, an area previously settled by
Germanic inhabitants who had moved on in the
Migration Period
The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...
.
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
, whose efforts to
Christianise the area were opposed by the Germanic
Saxons
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
, expelled many of the Saxons and brought in
Polabian Slavs
Polabian Slavs, also known as Elbe Slavs
and more broadly as Wends, is a collective term applied to a number of Lechites, Lechitic (West Slavs, West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern Germany. The ...
allies.
Liubice (the place-name means "how lovely") was founded on the banks of the River Trave about north of the present-day city-center of Lübeck.
In the 10th century, it became the most important settlement of the
Obotrite confederacy and a castle was built. In 1128, the pagan
Rani from
Rügen razed Liubice.
In 1143,
Adolf II, Count of Schauenburg and Holstein, founded the modern town as a German settlement on the river island of
Bucu. He built a new castle, first mentioned by the chronicler
Helmold as existing in 1147. Adolf had to cede the castle to the Duke of Saxony,
Henry the Lion, in 1158. After Henry's fall from power in 1181, the town became an
Imperial city for eight years.
Emperor
Barbarossa
Barbarossa, a name meaning "red beard" in Italian, primarily refers to:
* Frederick Barbarossa (1122–1190), Holy Roman Emperor
* Hayreddin Barbarossa (c. 1478–1546), Ottoman admiral
* Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Uni ...
(reigned 1152–1190) ordained that the city should have a ruling council of 20 members. With the council dominated by merchants, pragmatic trade interests shaped Lübeck's politics for centuries. The council survived into the 19th century. The town and castle changed ownership for a period afterwards and formed part of the
Duchy of Saxony
The Duchy of Saxony () was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 CE and incorporated into the Carolingian Empire (Francia) by 804. Upon the 84 ...
until 1192, of the County of
Holstein
Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany.
Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...
until 1217, and of the kingdom of Denmark until the
Battle of Bornhöved in 1227.
Hanseatic city
Around 1200, the port became the main point of departure for colonists leaving for the Baltic territories conquered by the
Livonian Order
The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order,
formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation.
History
The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after thei ...
, and later, by the
Teutonic Order
The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...
. In 1226, Emperor
Frederick II elevated the town to the status of an Imperial free city, by which it became the
Free City of Lübeck.
In the 14th century, Lübeck became the "Queen of the
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...
", being by far the largest and most powerful member of that medieval trade organization. In 1375, Emperor
Charles IV named Lübeck one of the five "Glories of the Empire", a title shared with
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
,
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
,
Pisa
Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
, and
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
.
Several conflicts about trading privileges resulted in fighting between Lübeck (with the Hanseatic League) and Denmark and Norway – with varying outcome. While Lübeck and the Hanseatic League prevailed in conflicts in 1435 and 1512, Lübeck lost when it became involved in the
Count's Feud, a civil war that raged in Denmark from 1534 to 1536. Lübeck also joined the pro-Lutheran
Schmalkaldic League
The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheranism, Lutheran Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, principalities and cities within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. It received its name from the town of Schm ...
of the mid-16th century.
Decline
After its defeat in the
Count's Feud, Lübeck's power slowly declined. The city remained neutral in the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
of 1618–1648, but the combination of the devastation from the decades-long war and the new transatlantic orientation of European trade caused the Hanseatic League – and thus Lübeck with it – to decline in importance. However, even after the ''de facto'' disbanding of the Hanseatic League in 1669, Lübeck still remained an important trading town on the Baltic Sea.
From the Napoleonic wars to the Franco-Prussian war
In the course of the war of the
Fourth Coalition against
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, troops under Marshal
Jean Baptiste Bernadotte (who would later become King of Sweden) occupied Lübeck after a battle against Prussian General
Gebhard Blücher on 6 November 1806 due to the latter's illegal use of the city as a fortress, in violation of Lübeck's neutrality, following the French pursuit of his corps after the
Battle of Jena-Auerstadt. Under the
Continental System, the State bank went into bankruptcy. In 1811, the
French Empire formally annexed Lübeck as part of France but the anti-Napoleonic allies liberated the area in 1813.
After Napoleon's defeat, the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
of 1815 recognised Lübeck as an independent free city. The city became a member of the
German Confederation
The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...
(1815–1866), the
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' feder ...
(1866–1871) and the
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
(1871–1918).
During the
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
, the battalion de Fusilier of Lübeck was part of the "2nd Hanseatic Infantry Regiment No. 76".
On the day of the
Battle of Loigny
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
the commander of the
17th Division, Hugo von Kottwitz, of the morning advanced in front of the Fusilier battalion of the regiment, urging them to "commemorate the bravery of the Hanseatic League". his attack in the north while the other battalions turned towards
Loigny.
This shock surprised the French so much that they were invaded by their flank. They fled to the Fougeu place and were kicked out of this. The battle was to become the founding myth of the last Lübeck regiment, 3rd Hanseatic Infantry Regiment No. 162, which was founded in 1897. When the battalion commander returned to Lübeck with his battalion, he was appointed regimental commander.
20th century
At the end of the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and the fall of the German Empire, Lübeck became a member state of the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
(1919–1933). After the
Nazi seizure of power
The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...
, Lübeck, like all other German states, was subjected to the process of ''
Gleichschaltung
The Nazi term (), meaning "synchronization" or "coordination", was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler—leader of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany—established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all ...
'' (coordination). Subsequent to the enactment of the "
Second Law on the Coordination of the States with the Reich" on 7 April 1933,
Friedrich Hildebrandt was appointed to the new position of ''
Reichsstatthalter
The ''Reichsstatthalter'' (, ''Reich lieutenant'') was a title used in the German Empire and later in Nazi Germany.
''Statthalter des Reiches'' (1879–1918)
The office of ''Statthalter des Reiches'' (otherwise known as ''Reichsstatthalter'' ...
'' (Reich Governor) of Lübeck on 26 May 1933. Hildebrandt installed
Otto-Heinrich Drechsler as the ''
Bürgermeister'', displacing the duly-elected
Social Democrat
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
, .
Additionally, on 30 January 1934, the Reich government enacted the "
Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich
The Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich () of 30 January 1934, was a sweeping constitutional change to the structure of the German state by the government of Nazi Germany. It was one of the key pieces of legislation that served as the basis f ...
," formally abolishing all the state parliaments and transferring the sovereignty of the states to the central government. With this action, the Lübeck popular assembly, the ''Bürgerschaft'', was dissolved and Lübeck effectively lost its rights as a federal state. Under the provisions of the
Greater Hamburg Act, Lübeck was absorbed into the
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n
Province of Schleswig-Holstein
The Province of Schleswig-Holstein ( ) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia (from 1868 to 1918) and the Free State of Prussia (from 1918 to 1946).
History
It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which had been conquere ...
, effective 1 April 1937, thereby losing its 711-year status as an independent free city.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
(1939–1945), Lübeck became the first German city to suffer substantial
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF) bombing. The attack of 28 March 1942 created a
firestorm
A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...
that caused severe damage to the historic centre.
This raid destroyed three of the main churches and large parts of the built-up area; the bells of St Marienkircke plunged to the stone floor.
Nearly 1,500 houses were completely destroyed, 2,200 heavily damaged and 9,000 slightly damaged. More than 320 people lost their lives. The industrial area of Lübeck was bombed on 25 August 1944 and 110 people were killed. In total, nearly 20% of the city centre was entirely destroyed, with particular damage in the Gründungsviertel neighborhood, where the rich merchants from the Hanseatic League had once lived.
Germany operated a
prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...
for officers,
Oflag X-C, near the city from 1940 until April 1945. The British
Second Army entered Lübeck on 2 May 1945 and occupied it without resistance.
On 3 May 1945, one of the biggest disasters in naval history occurred in the
Bay of Lübeck when RAF bombers sank three ships: the
SS ''Cap Arcona'', the
SS ''Deutschland'', and the
SS ''Thielbek'' – which, unknown to them, were packed with concentration-camp inmates. About 7,000 people died.
Lübeck's population grew considerably, from about 150,000 in 1939 to more than 220,000 after the war, owing to an influx of ethnic German refugees expelled from the
former eastern provinces of Germany in the
Communist Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
. Lübeck remained part of Schleswig-Holstein after World War II (and consequently lay within
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
). It stood directly on what became the
inner German border
The inner German border ( or ''deutsch–deutsche Grenze''; initially also , zonal boundary) was the frontier between the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the West Germany, Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West ...
during the division of Germany into two states in the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
period. South of the city, the border followed the path of the river
Wakenitz, which separated Germany by less than in many parts. The northernmost border crossing was in Lübeck's district of Schlutup. Lübeck spent decades restoring its historic city centre. In 1987,
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
designated this area a
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
.
In April 2015, Lübeck hosted the G7 conference.
Climate
Lübeck has an
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Cfb'';
Trewartha: ''Dobk''). Lübeck is located on the eastern coast of the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
and is greatly regulated by the ocean. The average annual temperature ranges from in winter to in summer. Although the summer is relatively cooler than inland, there is still a high probability of high temperature days. On average, there are 6.6 days per year with maximum temperatures exceeding .
[
The Lübeck weather station has recorded the following extreme values:][
* Highest Temperature on 9 August 1982.
* Warmest Minimum on 30 July 2018.
* Coldest Maximum on 18 January 1893.
* Lowest Temperature on 4 February 1912.][
* Highest Daily Precipitation on 17 July 2002.
* Wettest Month in August 2010.
* Wettest Year in 1998.
* Driest Year in 1959.
* Longest annual sunshine: 2,064.5 hours in 1959.
* Shortest annual sunshine: 1,300.7 hours in 1998.
]
Notes
Population
Lübeck has a population of about 217,000 people and is the 2nd largest city in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...
. Lübeck became a major city after becoming a part of the Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...
in the 15th century. Lübeck later became one of the important and leading Hanseatic cities in Europe. Following World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the population of Lübeck grew rapidly due to the refugee crisis, as many people from East Prussia
East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
and other former parts of Germany and had to flee there after the war. The population began to decline in the 1970s but grew again in 1990s after the German Reunification
German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
, as many people from the former East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
came to Lübeck due to the fact that it lies directly on the former East German border. Today Lübeck attracts many tourists due to its rich history and Hanseatic architecture, and it is known as one of the most beautiful cities in Germany.
The largest ethnic minority groups are Turks, Central Europeans (Poles
Pole or poles may refer to:
People
*Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland
* Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name
* Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist
...
), Southern Europeans (mostly Greeks
Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
and Italians
Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...
), Eastern Europeans (e.g. Russians
Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
and Ukrainians
Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...
), Arabs
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
, and several smaller groups.
Politics
The current mayor of Lübeck is Jan Lindenau of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). The most recent mayoral election was held in 2017. The Lübeck city council governs the city alongside the mayor.
Culture
Tourism
In 2019, Lübeck reached 2 million overnight stays. Lübeck is famous for its medieval city centre with its churches, Holstentor, and small alleys. Lübeck has been called "Die Stadt der 7 Türme" (the city of seven towers) because of its seven prominent church towers. Like many other places in Germany, Lübeck has a long tradition of a Christmas market in December, which includes the famous handicrafts market inside the Heiligen-Geist-Hospital ( Hospital of the Holy Spirit), located at the northern end of Königstrasse.
Buildings
Over 80% of the old town has preserved its medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
appearance, with historic buildings and narrow streets. The rest has been and is currently in a process of restoration and reconstruction. At one time, the town could only be entered by any of four town gates, two of which remain today, the well-known Holstentor (1478) and the Burgtor (1444).
The old town centre is dominated by seven church steeples. The oldest are Lübeck Cathedral and the Marienkirche (Saint Mary's), both dating from the 13th and 14th centuries.
Built in 1286, the Hospital of the Holy Spirit at Koberg is one of the oldest existing social institutions in the world and one of the most important buildings in the city. The Hospital functions both as a retirement and a nursing home. Some historical parts have been made available for public viewing.
Other sights include:
*The City Hall
* St. Catherine's Church, a church that belonged to a former monastery, now the Katharineum, a Latin school
*Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
's house
*Günter Grass
Günter Wilhelm Grass (; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature.
He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gda ...
's house
* Church of St Peter
*Church of St Lawrence, located on the site of a cemetery for people who died during the 16th-century plague
* Church of St James, 1334
* Church of the Sacred Heart
* Church of St Aegidien
*the Salzspeicher, historic warehouses where salt delivered from Lüneburg
Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...
awaited shipment to Baltic ports
*The City of Travemünde on the Coast of the Baltic Sea.
Music, literature and the arts
The composer Franz Tunder was principal organist in the Marienkirche, Lübeck, when he initiated the tradition of weekly '' Abendmusiken''. In 1668, his daughter Anna Margarethe married the Danish-German composer Dieterich Buxtehude
Dieterich Buxtehude (; born Diderich Hansen Buxtehude, ; – 9 May 1707) was a Danish composer and organist of the Baroque music, Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal ...
, who became the new organist at the Marienkirche. Some of the rising composers of the day travelled to Lübeck to witness his performances, notably Handel and Mattheson in 1703, and Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...
in 1705.
Writer and Nobel laureate Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
was a member of the Mann family
The Mann family ( , ; ) is a German dynasty of novelists and an old Hanseaten (class), Hanseatic family of Patrician (post-Roman Europe), patricians from Free City of Lübeck, Lübeck. It is known for being the family of the Nobel Prize for Li ...
of Lübeck merchants. His well-known 1901 novel ''Buddenbrooks
''Buddenbrooks'' () is a 1901 novel by Thomas Mann, chronicling the decline of a wealthy north German merchant family over the course of four generations, incidentally portraying the manner of life and mores of the Hanseatic bourgeoisie in th ...
'' made readers in Germany (and later worldwide, through numerous translations) familiar with the manner of life and mores of the 19th-century Lübeck ''bourgeoisie
The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...
''.
Lübeck became the scene of a notable art scandal in the 1950s. Lothar Malskat was hired to restore medieval fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
es of the Marienkirche, which were unearthed as a result of severe bomb damage during World War II. Instead, he painted new works, which he passed off as restorations, fooling many experts. Malskat later revealed the deception himself. Writer and Nobel laureate Günter Grass
Günter Wilhelm Grass (; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature.
He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gda ...
featured this incident in his 1986 novel '' The Rat''; from 1995 he lived close to Lübeck in Behlendorf, where he was buried in 2015.
Museums
Lübeck has many small museums, such as the St. Anne's Museum Quarter, Lübeck, the Behnhaus, the European Hansemuseum, and the Holstentor. Lübeck Museum of Theatre Puppets is a privately run museum. Waterside attractions are a lightvessel that served Fehmarnbelt and the Lisa von Lübeck, a reconstruction of a Hanseatic 15th century caravel.
The marzipan museum in the second floor of Café Niederegger in Breite Strasse explains the history of marzipan
Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract.
It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and ...
, and shows historical wood molds for the production of marzipan blocks and a group of historical figures made of marzipan.
Food and drink
Lübeck is famous for its marzipan
Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract.
It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and ...
industry. According to local legend, marzipan was first made in Lübeck, possibly in response either to a military siege of the city or a famine year. The story, perhaps apocryphal, is that the city ran out of all food except stored almonds and sugar, which were used to make loaves of marzipan "bread". Others believe that marzipan was actually invented in Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
a few hundred years before Lübeck claims to have invented it. The best known producer is Niederegger, which tourists often visit while in Lübeck, especially at Christmas time.
The Lübeck wine trade dates back to Hanseatic
The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...
times. One Lübeck specialty is Rotspon (), wine made from grapes processed and fermented in France and transported in wooden barrels to Lübeck, where it is stored, aged and bottled.
Like other coastal North German communities, Fischbrötchen and Brathering are popular takeaway foods, given the abundance of fish varieties.
Sports
Lübeck is home to 3. Liga side VfB Lübeck who play at the 17,849 capacity Stadion an der Lohmühle. In addition to the football department the sports club has departments for badminton, women's gymnastics, handball, and table tennis.
Education
Lübeck has three universities, the University of Lübeck, the Technical University of Applied Sciences Lübeck, and the Lübeck Academy of Music. Th
Graduate School for Computing in Medicine and Life Sciences
is a central faculty of the university and was founded by th
German Excellence Initiative
The International School of New Media is an affiliated institute of the university.The Academy of Hearing Acoustics is Germany's central education facility for Hearing aid professionals, responsible for the industry-wide vocational training.
Districts
The city of Lübeck is divided into 10 zones. These again are arranged into altogether 35 urban districts. The 10 zones with their official numbers, their associated urban districts and the numbers of inhabitants of the quarters:
*01 City centre (~ 12,000 inhabitants)
The ''Innenstadt'' is the main tourist attraction and consists of the old town as well as the former ramparts. It is the oldest and smallest part of Lübeck.
*02 St. Jürgen (~ 40,000 inhabitants)
** Hüxtertor / Mühlentor / Gärtnergasse, Strecknitz / Rothebek, Blankensee, Wulfsdorf, Beidendorf, Krummesse, Kronsforde, Niederbüssau, Vorrade, Schiereichenkoppel, Oberbüssau
''Sankt Jürgen'' is one of three historic suburbs of Lübeck (alongside ''St. Lorenz'' and ''St. Gertrud''). It is located south of the city centre and the biggest of all city parts.
*03 Moisling (~ 10,000 inhabitants)
** Niendorf / Moorgarten, Reecke, Old-Moisling / Genin
''Moisling'' is situated in the far south-west. Its history dates back to the 17th century.
*04 Buntekuh (~ 10,000 inhabitants)
''Buntekuh'' lies in the west of Lübeck. A big part consists of commercial zones such as the ''Citti-Park'', Lübeck's biggest mall.
*05 St. Lorenz-South (~ 12,000 inhabitants)
''Sankt Lorenz-Süd'' is located right in the south-west of the city centre and has the highest population density. The main train and bus station lie in its northern part.
*06 St. Lorenz-North (~ 40,000 inhabitants)
** Holstentor-North, Falkenfeld / Vorwerk / Teerhof, Großsteinrade / Schönböcken, Dornbreite / Krempelsdorf
''Sankt Lorenz-Nord'' is situated in the north-west of Lübeck. It is split from its southern part by the railways.
*07 St. Gertrud (~ 40,000 inhabitants)
** Burgtor / Stadtpark, Marli / Brandenbaum, Eichholz, Karlshof / Israelsdorf / Gothmund
''Sankt Gertrud'' is located in the east of the city centre. This part is mainly characterized by its nature. Many parks, the rivers ''Wakenitz'' and ''Trave'' and the forest ''Lauerholz'' make up a big part of its area.
*08 Schlutup (~ 6,000 inhabitants)
''Schlutup'' lies in the far east of Lübeck. Due to forest ''Lauerholz'' in its west and river ''Trave'' in the north, Schlutup is relatively isolated from the other city parts.
*09 Kücknitz (~ 20,000 inhabitants)
** Dänischburg / Siems / Rangenberg / Wallberg, Herrenwyk, Alt-Kücknitz / Dummersdorf / Roter Hahn, Poeppendorf
North of river Trave lies ''Kücknitz''. It is the old main industrial area of Lübeck.
*10 Travemünde (~ 15,000 inhabitants)
** Ivendorf, Alt-Travemünde / Rönnau, Priwall, Teutendorf, Brodten
''Travemünde'' is located in far northeastern Lübeck at the Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
. With its long beach and coast line, Travemünde is the second biggest tourist destination.
International relations
Twin towns – sister cities
Lübeck is twinned with:
* Kotka
Kotka (; ) is a town in Finland, located on the southeastern coast of the country at the mouth of the Kymi River. The population of Kotka is approximately , while the Kotka-Hamina sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is th ...
, Finland (1969)
* Wismar
Wismar (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar () is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city of Mecklenburg after Rostock, Schwerin and ...
, Germany (1987)
* La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...
, France (1988)
* Klaipėda
Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...
, Lithuania (1990)
* Visby
Visby () is an urban areas in Sweden, urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic League, ...
, Sweden (1999)
Friendly cities
Lübeck also has friendly relations with:[
* ]Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, Italy (1979)
* Kawasaki, Japan (1992)
* Bergen
Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo.
By May 20 ...
, Norway (1996)
* Shaoxing
Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou, Zhejiang, Taizhou to the south ...
, China (2003)
Transport
Lübeck is connected to three main motorways (Autobahn
The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'.
Much of t ...
en). The A1 Motorway is heading north to the Island of Fehmarn and Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
(Denmark) and south to Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
and Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
. The A20 Motorway heads east towards Wismar
Wismar (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar () is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city of Mecklenburg after Rostock, Schwerin and ...
, Rostock
Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...
and Szczecin
Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...
(Poland) and west to Bad Segeberg
Bad Segeberg (; ) is a German town of 16,000 inhabitants, located in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, capital of the district (Kreis) Segeberg. It is situated approximately northeast of Hamburg, and west of Lübeck.
It is famous for its annual ...
and to the North Sea. The A226 Motorway starts in central Lübeck and is heading to the north-east and the Seaport-City of Travemünde.
Lübeck is served by multiple railway stations. The principal one is Lübeck Hauptbahnhof, with about 31,000 passengers per day, is the busiest station in Schleswig-Holstein. The station is mostly served by regional rail services to Hamburg, Lüneburg, Kiel
Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...
, the Island of Fehmarn and Szczecin (Poland). There are some long-distance trains to Munich, Frankfurt-am-Main and Cologne. During the summer holidays, there are many extra rail services. Until the end of 2019, Lübeck was a stop on the '' Vogelfluglinie'' train line from Hamburg to Copenhagen (Denmark).
Public transport by bus is organised by the Lübeck City-Traffic-Company ( Lübecker Stadtverkehr). There are 40 bus lines serving the city and the area around Lübeck, in addition to regional bus services.
The district of Travemünde is on the Baltic Sea and has the city's main port. The Scandinavienkai (the quay of Scandinavia) is the departure point for ferry routes to Malmö
Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
and Trelleborg
Trelleborg () is a town in Skåne County, Sweden, with 43,359 inhabitants as of 31 December 2015. It is the southernmost town in Sweden located some west from the Smygehuk, southernmost point of Sweden and the Scandinavian Peninsula. It is one ...
(Sweden); Liepāja
Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...
(Latvia); Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
(Finland) and Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
(Russia). It is the second-biggest German port on the Baltic Sea.
Lübeck Airport is located in the south of Lübeck in the town of Blankensee. It has limited international airlines' services.
Notable people
Religion
* Laurentius Surius (1522–1578), Carthusian monk and hagiographer
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an wiktionary:adulatory, adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religi ...
* August Hermann Francke
August Hermann Francke (; 22 March 1663 – 8 June 1727) was a German Lutheran clergyman, theologian, philanthropist, and Biblical scholar. His evangelistic fervour and pietism got him expelled as lecturer from the universities of Dresden and ...
(1663–1727), pedagogue, theologian, founded the Francke Foundations
The Francke Foundations (Franckesche Stiftungen), also known as Glauchasche Anstalten were founded in 1695 in Halle (Saale), Halle, Germany as a Christian, social and educational work by August Hermann Francke
The Francke Foundations are today ...
* Johann Lorenz von Mosheim (1693–1755), Lutheran church historian
* Lübeck Martyrs Three Roman Catholic priests and one Evangelical Lutheran clergyman were executed by beheading on 10 November 1943 less than 3 minutes apart from each other at Hamburg's Holstenglacis Prison (1943)
* Ephraim Carlebach (1879–1936), rabbi and founder of the Higher Israelite School in Leipzig
* Joseph Carlebach (1883–1942), rabbi, victim of the Holocaust
* Felix Carlebach (1911–2008), rabbi
Politics
* Werner Huno (died 1291 in Lübeck), merchant and councilor of the Hanseatic city of Lübeck
* Johann Wittenborg (1321–1363), Mayor of Lübeck, lost the Battle of Helsingborg
* Jürgen Wullenwever (c.1492–1537), burgomaster
Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch .
In so ...
of Lübeck from 1533 to 1535
* George Wulweber, 16th-century Protestant who was tortured on the rack
* Friedrich Krüger (1819–1896), diplomat for the Hanseatic cities of Lübeck, Hamburg and Bremen
* John Rugee (1827–1894), politician in Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
, USA
* Gustav Radbruch (1878–1949), legal scholar and politician
* Hermann Lüdemann (1880–1959), CDU politician
* Otto-Heinrich Drechsler (1895–1945), Mayor of Lübeck 1933 to 1937, set up the Riga ghetto
Riga Ghetto was a small area in Maskavas Forštate, a neighbourhood of Riga, Latvia, where Nazis forced Latvian Jewish, Jews from Latvia, and later from the German "Reich" (Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and Moravia), to live during World War II. On ...
* Haim Cohn (1911–2002), Israeli jurist and politician
* Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and concurrently served as the Chancellor ...
(1913–1992), SPD politician, German chancellor
* Helga Kleiner (born 1935), CDU politician
* Björn Engholm (born 1939), SPD politician
* Robert Habeck (born 1969), writer and politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens
* Birgitt Ory (born 1964), diplomat
* Beatrix von Storch (born 1971), AfD politician, former MEP
Art
* Benjamin Block (1631–1690), German-Hungarian Baroque painter
* Sir Godfrey Kneller
Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723) was a German-born British painter. The leading Portrait painting, portraitist in England during the late Stuart period, Stuart and early Georgian eras ...
(1646–1723), court painter of several British monarchs
* Catharina Elisabeth Heinecken (1683–1757), artist and alchemist
* Carl Heinrich von Heineken (1707–1791), art historian
* Friedrich Overbeck (1789–1869), painter and head of the Nazarenes
* Johann Wilhelm Cordes (1824–1869), landscape painter
* Gotthardt Kuehl (1850–1915), painter
* Maria Slavona (1865–1931), impressionist painter, sister of Cornelia Schorer
* Erich Ponto (1884–1957), actor
* Walter D. Asmus (born 1941), theatre director
* Justus von Dohnányi (born 1960), actor
* Jonas Nay (born 1990), actor
Music
* Franz Tunder (1614–1667), organist and composer
* Thomas Baltzar (c. 1631–1663), violinist and composer.
* Rüdiger Bohn (born 1960), conductor and professor
* Dieterich Buxtehude
Dieterich Buxtehude (; born Diderich Hansen Buxtehude, ; – 9 May 1707) was a Danish composer and organist of the Baroque music, Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal ...
(c.1637–1707), composer and organist
* Andreas Kneller (1649–1724), composer and organist
* Friedrich Ludwig Æmilius Kunzen (1761–1817), composer
* Anja Thauer (1945–1973), cellist
Science
* Joachim Jungius
Joachim Jungius (born Joachim Junge; 22 October 1587 – 23 September 1657) was a German mathematician, logician and philosopher of science.
Life
Jungius was a native of Lübeck. He studied metaphysics at the Universities of University of Ro ...
(1587–1657), mathematician, physicist, and philosopher
* Heinrich Meibom (1638–1700), medical expert, discovered the Meibomian gland
* Hermann von Fehling (1811–1885), chemist
* Robert Christian Avé-Lallemant (1812–1884), physician and research traveler
* Ernst Curtius (1814–1896), classical archaeologist and historian
* Georg Curtius (1820–1885), philologist
* Friedrich Matthias Claudius (1822–1869), anatomist
* James Behrens (1824–1898), entomologist.
* Friedrich Matz (1843–1874), archaeologist
* Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav Bruhn (1853–1927), invented the taximeter
A taximeter or fare meter is a mechanical or electronic device installed in taxicabs and auto rickshaws that calculates passenger fares based on a combination of distance travelled and waiting time. Its shortened form, "taxi", is also a meton ...
* Cornelia Schorer (1863–1939), one of Germany's first female physicians
* Heinrich Lüders (1869–1943), orientalist and indologist
* Justus Mühlenpfordt (1911–2000), nuclear physicist
* Wolfgang Luthe (1922–1985), physician, psychotherapist and autogenic training
Autogenic training is a relaxation technique first published by the German and Nazi psychiatrist Johannes Heinrich Schultz in 1932. The technique involves repetitions of a set of visualisations accompanied by vocal suggestions that induce a sta ...
pioneer
Writing
* Arnold of Lübeck (died 1211-1214), author of contemporary chronicles
* Erasmus Finx (1627–1694), polyhistorian, author and church writer
* Christian Adolph Overbeck (1755–1821), mayor and poet
* Johann Bernhard Vermehren (1777–1803), romanticist and lecturer
* Emanuel Geibel (1815–1884), poet
* Gustav Falke (1853–1916), author
* Heinrich Mann (1871–1950), novelist
* Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
(1875–1955), novelist, Nobel Prize for Literature in 1929
* Friedrich Ranke
Friedrich Ranke (21 September 1882 - 11 October 1950) was a German medievalist philologist and folklorist. His Old Norse textbook ''Altnordisches Elementarbuch'' remains a standard, and all literature concerning Gottfried von Strassburgs ''Tr ...
(1882–1950), a German medievalist, philologist, folklorist and writer
* Jörg Wontorra (born 1948), sport journalist
* Nicolai Riedel (born 1952), philologist, author and an editor
Sport
* Sandra Völker
Sandra Völker (born 1 April 1974) is a retired freestyle and backstroke swimmer from Germany, former world record holder in 50 metres backstroke. She was also multiple World and European champion, in both Long and Short Course Championships. ...
(born 1974), swimmer, won three medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
* Marie-Louise Dräger (born 1981), five-time world champion lightweight sculler
* Tobias Kamke (born 1986), professional tennis player
* Maximilian Munski (born 1988), rower, silver medallist at the 2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
Other
* Adam Brand (c. 1692–1746), merchant and researcher
* Christian Friedrich Heinecken (1721–1725), "the infant scholar of Lübeck", a child prodigy
* Kurd von Schlözer (1822–1894), diplomat and historian
* Hermann von der Hude (1830–1908), architect
* Hermann Blohm
Adolph Hermann Blohm (23 June 1848 – 12 March 1930) was a German shipbuilder and company founder of Blohm+Voss.
Life
Blohm was born in Lübeck to merchant Georg Blohm. He studied at ETH Zurich in Switzerland. Together with Ernst Voss he fo ...
(1848–1930), shipbuilder and company founder
* Hermann Pister (1885–1948), Nazi SS commandant of Buchenwald Concentration Camp
Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...
* Hermann Görtz (1890–1947), spy for Nazi Germany in Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
and Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
* Walter Ewers (1892–1918), flying ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...
of WWI
* Hans Blumenberg (1920–1996), philosopher
* Jörg Ziercke (born 1947), chief commissioner of the Federal Criminal Police Office 2004–2014
See also
* Bombing of Lübeck in World War II
* Cap Arcona
* Lübeck Airport
* Lübeck Hauptbahnhof
* Lübeck law
* Lübeck Nordic Film Days
* '' Lübecker Nachrichten''—Lübeck's only newspaper
* Oberschule zum Dom
* Ports of the Baltic Sea
* Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival
* VfB Lübeck, football and sports club
References
Citations
General and cited references
*
*
*
External links
*
Official tourism site
* ''The Jewish Encyclopedia
''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...
''
"Lübeck"
by Gotthard Deutsch (1906).
Hanseatic City of Lübeck: UNESCO Official Website
Lovebridge Lübeck
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lubeck
1140s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1143 establishments in Europe
Cities in Schleswig-Holstein
Hanseatic Cities
Landmarks in Germany
Members of the Hanseatic League
Populated coastal places in Germany (Baltic Sea)
Port cities and towns in Germany
Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea
World Heritage Sites in Germany
Urban districts of Schleswig-Holstein