Postcards from Lübeck: part 1

On Wednesday, we headed over to Lübeck, a 50 minute train journey from Hamburg Central Station. It was a city we both wanted to visit with its historic importance for the Baltic region of Europe. I so rarely travel by train now, that it was fun to people watch my fellow travellers: the young woman carrying a cello, a man walking briskly armed with a fishing rod and suitcase, and a man whizzing along the opposite platform in a wheelchair.

I admit I spent the whole time on the journey staring out the window spotting all sorts of things from trees filled with nests and a large murder of crows, intent on building new nests and refreshing old ones. I also spotted this flour mill, with the neat and tidy logo and name on the wall.

The city actually lies on an island, on the mouth of the Trave river, and the old town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. When we arrived, it was cold and a bit misty, but as you’ll see in part 2, the weather rapidly changed. The first thing you see is the Holsten Gate, Lübeck’s famous landmark, which actually appears on the German 2 euro coin. If you think your eyes are playing tricks, yes the right hand tower is leaning over, something that has been noted apparently since it was built in the late 15th century. Restoration has been carried out so it is unlikely to fall over, but there are a few other buildings, such as the skinny one in the row of buildings below, that also list at some angle.

We headed off down the first interesting looking street, and finally ended up at the Radhaus or Town Hall. Construction began in 1230, but of course time and rebuilding has had an impact on it structure and shape. I of course focused on the faces above one of the entranceways – these were such fun and take pride of place in my collection!

We stopped by St Peter’s Church, but it looked like they were getting the building ready for the Easter weekend so we wandered over to St Mary’s Cathedral (St Marien zu Lübeck). Outside the church is this little devil, sitting on the wall. The story goes that when the church was first being built, the devil believed it was going to be a bar where people could drink wine. He thought this a great idea, so began to mingle with the workers and help out. One day he realised what the building was going to be so he grabbed a huge boulder to smash the walls that had already been built. Just as he was about to throw the stone a man shouted (and here I quote from the notice beside the statue) “Just stop it Mr Devil! Leave what has already been erected! For you we will build a wine bar just here in the neighbourhood!” The devil was of course very pleased with this and opposite the workers build the wine cellar of the town hall. Such a great story!

Anyway, the diocese of Lübeck was founded in 1160, and construction of the three-aisled brick cathedral began in 1173. However, during the air raid on Lübeck in 1942, the building was completely destroyed by fire, and its vaults collapsed. Reconstruction did not begin until 1960 and in 1973, Lübeck Cathedral was re-consecrated. The cathedral houses numerous artistic treasures, including the 17-meter-high Triumph Cross, the carved pulpit, and the Lettner clock. Below you can see the memorial in memory of 1942, with what remained of the bells, the astronomical clock and the cross.

Next to the clock are a couple of stained glass windows, that I did not get a good picture of, designed to commemorate the 1463 depiction of Lübeck’s dance of death, probably ordered after one of the waves of plague. The original work was lost during the 1942 bombing, though luckily some photographs of the work remain. You canjust see a reconstruction of part of the work next to the clock. The renovations uncovered some historical artifacts and structures, some of which are on display, and work carries on today, as you can see if you notice the fencing in the picture above.

It was then time for lunch…and when we came out from eating, the weather had changed. More of that in part 2.

Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer and good food. Thistles and Kiwis can be found on Facebook and Instagram @thistlesandkiwis