The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the “capital” of the Hanseatic League (“Queen of the Hanse”) and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. In 2005 it had a population of 214,000.
Situated at the Trave River, Lübeck is the largest German port on the Baltic Sea. The old part of the town is an island enclosed by the Trave. The Elbe–Lübeck Canal connects the Trave with the Elbe River. Another important river near the town centre is the Wakenitz. Autobahn 1 connects Lübeck with Hamburg and Denmark (Vogelfluglinie). The borough Travemünde is a sea resort and ferry port at the coast of the Baltic Sea. Its central station links Lübeck with a number of lines, notably the line to Hamburg.
Much of the old town has kept a medieval look with old buildings and narrow streets. The town once could only be entered by passing one of four town gates, of which two remain today, the well-known Holstentor (1478) and the Burgtor (1444).
The old town centre is dominated by seven church steeples. The oldest ones are the Lübecker Dom (the city’s cathedral) and the Marienkirche (Saint Mary’s), both from the 13th and 14th centuries.
Lübeck was the scene of a notable art scandal in the 1950s. Lothar Malskat was hired to restore the medieval frescoes of cathedral of Marienkirche in Lübeck which were discovered in-wall after the cathedral had been badly damaged during World War II. Instead he painted new works which were passed off as restorations fooling many experts. The West German government printed 2 million postage stamps depicting the frescoes. Among Malskat’s additions were also wild turkeys, which were unknown in Europe during the Middle Ages. Some experts considered this as evidence for the early discovery of America by the Vikings. Malskat later exposed the deception himself. The incident plays a prominent role in Günter Grass’s novel The Rat.
