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If you happen to’re planning a visit to Northern Germany and also you need to expertise a medieval city that’ll transport you again by time, then it is advisable plan a day journey to Lüneburg!
Lüneburg is a city of purple brick Gothic structure that rose to prosperity through the Center Ages due to the salt discovered immediately beneath the city. The salt, also called white gold, was extracted for greater than 1,000 years and it formed the city’s panorama and historical past, however extra on that later.
On this weblog submit, we’ll provide you with some concepts of issues to do in Lüneburg on a day journey. We’ll present you the place to get one of the best panoramic views of the previous city, we’ll educate you why most of the city’s buildings are barely crooked, we’ll inform you the place to get pleasure from some hearty German dishes, plus we’ll share loads of enjoyable actions in your day journey to Lüneburg, Germany!
Visiting the city of Lüneburg, Germany
How do you get to Lüneburg?
One of the simplest ways to get to Lüneburg is by prepare. It’s a 36-minute prepare experience from Hamburg Hauptbahnhof to Lüneburg on the RE (Regional Specific). Or, alternatively, it’s a 1-hour prepare journey from Hannover on the ICE (Inter Metropolis Specific).
Are you able to go to Lüneburg on a day journey?
Lüneburg is located between Hamburg and Hanover, so it makes for a very simple day journey for anybody travelling round Northern Germany. The city is sufficiently small that guests can cowl a lot of the vacationer sights in sooner or later. Nonetheless, for travellers with extra time, it’s an ideal 2-3 day vacation spot.
Is Lüneburg Germany value visiting?
Sure! If you happen to’re on the lookout for a captivating, walkable, medieval city with numerous historical past, then Lüneburg is well worth the go to!
What’s Lüneburg identified for?
Lüneburg is finest identified for its salt, which through the Center Ages allowed the city to rise to prosperity. On the time, salt was in nice demand so as to protect herring caught within the Baltic and North Seas, and Lüneburg’s monopoly on salt manufacturing in Northern Europe allowed it to hitch the Hanseatic League and thrive.
Now let’s speak about some issues that you are able to do in Lüneburg throughout your sooner or later go to:
Climb the water tower
Our first cease of the day was Wasserturm Lüneburg, or the Lüneburg Water Tower, which is the place to go for panoramic views of the city.
This can be a neo-Gothic, red-brick construction located within the previous city and it’s not possible to overlook. The tower stands 55 metres tall and it’s the tallest constructing in Lüneburg’s previous city that’s not a church. Simply wait till you see all of the church steeples on the horizon when you attain the highest of the tower!
We rode the elevator to the highest, however then on the best way down, we took the steps which lead by the previous water tank that sits contained in the tower. The tank is 500 cubic metres and it was all lit up with blue lights and shifting water patterns – it’s an immersive murals.
Get misplaced within the Outdated City
We then continued over to Platz am Sande, which is among the oldest squares in Lüneburg and likewise one of the crucial necessary medieval squares in all of Germany. Medieval commerce routes used to run by right here so if you happen to had been to journey again in time a number of hundred years, you’d discover retailers bringing their items by cart to commerce and haggle on this very spot.
From this level, we began our mapless stroll across the previous city, taking place no matter random streets piqued our curiosity. It was a really gradual stroll as we stopped to admire the architectural particulars of those medieval houses and storefronts that look straight out of a fairy story.
Go to the principle church buildings
I discussed earlier that there are a whole lot of church buildings in Lüneburg, and we managed to make it to a few of the principle ones.
Basilica of St Nikolai
The primary was the Basilica of St Nikolai, which was constructed between 1407 and 1440 within the Gothic model. This was the church of the boatmen and salt barrel makers, two crucial jobs through the Center Ages. That is the smallest of the three fundamental church buildings in Lüneburg, but it surely’s well worth the go to.
Don’t overlook to search for on the star rib vault which is a fairly distinctive design for Northern Germany!
St John’s Church
We additionally visited Johanniskirche, or St John’s Church, which is the oldest Lutheran church in Lüneburg. What stands about this church is that its 108-meter tower rises crookedly into the sky!
Throughout its building across the 12 months 1384, the tower was 2.20 meters out of plumb. The factor is, church towers had been purposely constructed barely crooked into the wind in order that they didn’t get the total wind load, but it surely shouldn’t have been fairly so pronounced.
The story goes that when the grasp builder noticed his mistake, he climbed the church tower and threw himself out the window, nevertheless, simply then, a hay cart went previous permitting him to outlive the autumn. The builder then determined to rejoice the truth that he was nonetheless alive with a drink on the pub, and that’s when he fell off a bench and broke his neck.
Is it a real story? Onerous to say, however locals love sharing it!
St Michael’s Church
The third church we visited was St Michaelis, or St Michael’s, which was an abbey church of the previous monastery of Benedictines.
That is the place Johann Sebastian Bach was a boarder as a younger teenager. Right here, he was a singer within the church choir and sure additionally contributed as an organist.
And since we’ve been speaking a lot about crooked buildings, I’ll additionally point out that on this church there’s a plumb line that hangs to the west of the nave, the place you may see that the columns aren’t fairly straight!
Stroll alongside the Ilmenau River
Throughout our go to to Lüneburg, we loved a stroll alongside the banks of the Ilmenau River which flows by the city.
This can be a actually picturesque space and if you happen to’re on the lookout for postcard-perfect photograph ops, that is the place you’ll discover them. You will have the weeping willows swaying subsequent to the river, you may see buildings in quite a lot of architectural types all standing subsequent to one another, and the bridge is roofed in love locks.
There’s additionally a pleasant multi-level terrace on the west financial institution of the river simply throughout from the medieval crane, and you could find numerous eating places with outside eating.
See the previous medieval crane
One other cool attraction to go to in Lüneburg is the previous picket crane, which was first talked about in paperwork within the 12 months 1330. This crane was primarily used for the transport of salt and salted herring, and though it’s not in use immediately, its present state remains to be operational, which is superb!
Get pleasure from lunch with a view
There have been so many tempting lunch choices, however we ended up deciding on Frieda’s am Wasserturm. This restaurant sits proper subsequent to the water tower, so it has a fairly cool view, particularly if you happen to go for al fresco eating.
I ordered their parmesan and pesto cream soup, which was scrumptious and excellent for an outside autumn lunch. In the meantime, Sam opted for his or her large hamburger and spicy fries. It was meal!
Take a guided tour of the city
Top-of-the-line issues to do in Lüneburg, in my view, is to hitch a guided strolling tour. It’s such an effective way to study concerning the city’s distinctive historical past and its particular relationship with salt.
One of many first stops we made through the tour was the constructing generally known as the pregnant home as a result of its bulging stomach. This occurred as a result of the partitions had been constructed utilizing plaster that contained a considerable amount of calcium. As a result of the bricks had been fired for too lengthy, they absorbed and collected moisture, ensuing within the partitions increasing outwards.
We additionally visited the city corridor constructing which got here into being over the course of a number of centuries and due to this fact includes an eclectic mixture of architectural types which vary from North German Brick Gothic to Baroque. That is the most important medieval city corridor in Northern Germany and it additionally has a wonderful rose backyard out again.
We additionally realized how within the Center Ages, Lüneburg discovered its wealth by salt throughout a time when desk salt was virtually as precious as gold. The issue is that the salt was beneath the city and water was pumped all the way down to extract it creating cavities. This resulted in elements of the city sinking and it’s one thing that continues to occur to this present day. You possibly can see this as you stroll previous medieval homes that aren’t fairly stage and whose doorways and home windows are slanted.
Go to a chocolate store
One other place we visited throughout our day journey to Lüneburg was Schokothek. This can be a chocolate store that carries all kinds of hand-selected sweets from throughout the globe.
We did slightly tasting and likewise purchased some sweets to take dwelling as presents. A few of the highlights included the salted caramel chocolate, pistachio and nougat, after which black liquorice for Sam. If you happen to’ve been watching our YouTube channel for some time, you realize full nicely about his salted liquorice obsession! And we additionally purchased a bottle of Franconian wine to take again dwelling as a present.
Go to the German Salt Museum
We’ve been speaking about Lüneburg’s connection to salt and one other place so as to add to the checklist and study much more concerning the topic is the German Salt Museum.
Housed within the historic saltworks of Lüneburg, the museum provides an in-depth exploration of the method of salt extraction and manufacturing, which has been an integral a part of the city’s historical past for over a thousand years.
Guests can study concerning the numerous strategies utilized in salt manufacturing, the day by day lives of the employees, and the broader historic context wherein the salt commerce flourished. The museum recounts how salt, also known as “white gold,” was a precious commodity that considerably influenced commerce and financial energy in Europe.
The reveals embrace unique gear and instruments used within the salt-making course of, interactive shows, and informative panels. One of many highlights of the museum is the chance to see elements of the unique saltworks, together with the brine wells and evaporation pans.
If you happen to’re a historical past fanatic otherwise you’re thinking about industrial heritage, you then’ll in all probability benefit from the German Salt Museum.
Get pleasure from some hearty dishes
Lastly, we ended our day at Krone with some hearty German pub fare and beer. Additionally, this place has over 500 years of historical past!
Through the time of the Hanseatic League there have been 80 breweries in Lüneburg, and the Lüneburg Kronen Brewery which dates again to 1485 was the one one which remained in existence till it closed in 2001.
Whereas they might now not brew on-site, immediately, you may benefit from the restaurant and likewise go to their brewery museum.
As for the meals, we had two of our favorite dishes of the entire journey! Sam bought these savoury potato pancakes lined in a hen and mushroom gravy, whereas I bought the baked potato with bitter cream, pickled herring and apples. Easy, basic, hearty German pub meals!
And that’s a wrap of our day journey to Lüneburg. Hopefully, this journey information gave you just a few concepts of issues you are able to do in Lüneburg by yourself go to! And final however not least, we’ll go away you with a video of our go to. Tschüss!
