Hanseatic Lubeck and Wismar

On Tuesday, we visited two cities which were powerhouses during the Hanseatic times and are now UNESCO sites. Lubeck is the larger of the two and is located in what was West Germany. Wismar is about one quarter the size of Lubeck, and it is in the former East Germany.

To get to Lubeck, our first stop, we drove about 1 hour through eastern Germany. We saw row after row of Soviet apartment blocks, lots of softly rolling cropland, and massive solar “farms.”

Lubeck was a big, bustling city, and it was filled with wonderful old buildings. There were church spires everywhere we looked. It is known for its impressive array of brick Gothic structures.

It was a cold and very windy day. We even had a touch or two of rain, but mostly the weather held for us.

We started our walking tour at the Holsten Gate. Built in 1464, it lists a bit. Locals like to say the leaning tower of Pisa got its idea from Lubeck. It is touted as one the four most famous German buildings and is on the 2006 2-Euro coin.

Next door are the old salt warehouses, built in the 16th to 18th centuries.

We walked past St. Peter’s and on to a very pretty market square. If we had been here as planned on Monday, we would have seen the square humming with activity. But, on Tuesday, we had it to ourselves.

The Rathouse, or city hall.

We got to see the twin-spired St. Marien Church and walked past many other brick structures. (The Church looks like it’s listing too, but I’m afraid that’s just photographer error.)

We stopped at the 13th century Helligen-Geist (Holy Ghost) Hospital. It’s in the midst of some reconstruction, but we got to see some statuary and 14th century wall paintings.

We had lunch at Cafe Niederegger, known for having invented marzipan. It is a thriving candy shop on the main level, with a cafe upstairs. Our pork was served with a disk of browned marzipan on top. Sounds odd, but it was okay. Not something I’d go out of my way to eat,  but interesting to try.

Next, we drove about an hour to Wismar. It has a population of about 45,000 and is known for its medieval buildings. It will forever be known to me for the most difficult cobblestones I have yet encountered. I was almost afraid to take my eyes off my feet, they were so uneven and tall.

We stopped in a residential street where we heard about what are called unclaimed lands. These are properties that may have been abandoned when people escaped to the west. Years later (i.e., after the wall fell), people returned and wanted to reclaim their properties. Meanwhile, of course, others had taken ownership. This was a building that has just in the last year gotten a decision about ownership.

We started our walking tour of the Gothic quarter in the market square, where a market was underway. The centerpiece of the square was the Wasserkunst,  spring-fed well from around 1600.

After walking the Gothic district, we had a little free time and wandered through the market.

After a very full day of sights, we headed back to Warnemunde and our ship, or as Ulf (our tour guide) called it, our swimming hotel. What perfect imagery that conjures!