© Doriana Dreisbach

UN­ESCO World Her­it­age Site Lübeck

Lübeck was founded in 1143 as the first “occidental city on the Baltic coast”. It is a perfect example of the Hanseatic city family in the Baltic Sea region and is still today considered the “Queen of the Hanseatic League”. The city ensemble is considered one of the major testimonials to redbrick Gothic: its medieval layout with road network, road structure, quarter and plot structure is almost unchanged. In 1987, the historic city centre of Lübeck was thus named a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Since the Middle Ages, the seven towers of the churches have characterised the silhouette of the city. Thus, the Lübeck Marienkirche is considered the mother of northern German brick basilicas. Over 70 places of worship in the entire Baltic region were modelled on this church. From the viewing platform on the tower of the Petrikirche, which is 50 metres high, you can enjoy a spectacular view of the old town. From here, your gaze travels across a sea of red roof tiles and brick – and if the weather is nice, all the way to Travemünde and the Baltic Sea.

Incidentally: In 2017, with the motto “30 overnight!”, Lübeck celebrates 2017 the 30th anniversary of the awarding of the World Heritage title with numerous events: Besides discount promotions for those, who turn in 2017 30, there are special discovery tours on UNESCO World Heritage-related topics, freestart vouchers for the “Lübecker Stadtwerke Marathon”, special events in the Old Town churches and many more memorable highlights, which focus on the 30th anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage. More information can be found at www.plötzlich30.de.

Ex­plore the World Her­it­age Site Lübeck

  • Experience cultural history
    The Lübeck mu­seums (in Ger­man)

    Find out more
    © die Lübecker Museen

  • The history of the Hanseatic League
    European Hanseat­ic Mu­seum

    Find out more
    © Olaf Malzahn

  • Explore passages and courtyards
    Lübeck’s quiet, green oases

    Find out more
    © Lübeck Tourismus und Marketing GmbH/Uwe Findeisen

  • City tours
    Out and about in Lübeck’s old town

    Find out more
    © Vera Kuhlisch

  • in german
    St. Jac­obi in Lübeck

    Find out more
    © LTM / Katharina Pierre

Ex­plore Lübeck­'s Old Town

© Sebastian Wolgast

An air of secrecy and adventure shrouds the alleys and courtyards: Visitors often need to leave familiar paths, watch their heads by entrances and exits and it can take a few minutes before eyes have adjusted to the somewhat dim surroundings of the peaceful oases. Many of the alleyways lead into another alley or catch visitors by surprise by depositing them into a familiar street.

The courtyards and alleyways in Lübeck’s Old Town are witnesses of medieval architecture and due to the care and maintenance of the people of Lübeck they are still inhabited nowadays and often accessible for the public.

Our recommendation: Spend your next Lübeck-holiday in a cosy alleyway-house! Some of the houses have been converted to homelike holiday apartments, that can be booked via our accommodation service ( Verlinkung http://booking.luebeck-tourism.de/luebeck/en/accommodation/list?customHeader=true )

Here is a little selection of the most famous alleyways:

  • Engelsgrube (Angel’s path) – Where the English were called Angels

Hardly any other street in the Old Town shows a bigger variety. The origin of this designation is not to be found in the heavenly spheres, but can be traced back to the Hanseatic name for the English, who docked their ships at the end of the street.

  • Hellgrüner und dunkelgrüner Gang

Through the low portal at the side of a baroque bourgeois house one enters the prettiest and cleanest of Lübeck’s alleyways: the Light and Dark Green Alley. Situated between Engelswisch and Untertrave and accessible from both ends, a forgotten world opens up, imparting a whiff of the old Lübeck: an interplay of narrow alleys, little shacks, courtyards like fields, alleys seeming to be blind and hidden exists.

  • Lüngreens Gang

is one of the few alleyways where the remaining two-storey houses from the first half of the 17th century are under monumental protection. Moreover, it is one of the few alleys connecting two streets (Gruben). For tourists it is an adventure to get from the angled ways on the end towards the Bäckergang to the straight Lüngreens Gang and then finding themselves emerging from the idyll into the Fischergrube.

Find an overview of the courtyards and alleyways here.

... the UNESCO protected area includes the major buildings in Lübeck, such as

  • The building complex of the Town Hall,
  • The Castle Monastery,
  • The Koberg – a completely preserved quarter from the late 13th century – with Jakobikirche, Heiligen-Geist-Hospital and the blocks between the Glockengiesser- and Aegidienstrasse,
  • The quarter of the patrician houses from the 15th and 16th centuries between St. Petri and the Dome,
  • The Holstentor and the salt storage tanks on the left bank of the river Trave.

Even the archaeological underground of the water-surrounded old town, with now three million findings, is part of the World Heritage site.