Hanseatic city of Lübeck

The Hanseatic city of Lübeck lies around 15 kilometres inland from the Trave estuary. Founded in 1143 by Adolf von Schauenburg and revived by Henry the Lion in 1157, Lübeck was declared a self-governing city in 1226 by Emperor Friedrich II. Lübeck became rich and powerful as the centre of the mediaeval Hanseatic League, which dominated Baltic and North Sea trade.

Today, Lübeck is one of the north's tourist magnets. In 1987, the enclosed Hanseatic city was declared to be World Cultural History by UNESCO. No wonder: surrounded by water, the old section of the city, containing around 1800 listed buildings, is absolutely unique.

A tour around Lübeck's historic roads, streets and courtyards is virtually a "must" for Travemünde tourists – and an unforgettable experience. However, Lübeck's attractive old section is not only a historic monument, but also the core of an extremely lively, major city with over 200,000 inhabitants, which confidently claims the title of "the north's capital city of culture" for itself.

Lübeck is also proud of its three Nobel prize-winners: Lübeck was or is home to Thomas Mann (1875-1955, Nobel prize for literature in 1929), Willy Brandt (1913-1992, Nobel peace prize in 1971) and Günter Grass (born in 1927, Nobel prize for literature in 1999). Today, Lübeck's "Buddenbrookhaus" literature museum is a centre of attraction for Mann experts and adherents from all over the world. The Günter Grass house, in which the author had his writing atelier, and the Willy Brandt house, which opened at the end of 2007, regard themselves as both exciting exhibitions and inspiring centres of research.

Package overview   Artistically composed: in Travemünde, you have a choice of numerous attractive holiday packages…