Lübeck Attractions

Lübeck’s most famous building and landmark is the Holsten Gate, probably Germany’s best-known city gate. Built in the mid-15th century, it stands like a bulwark in front of the city walls and narrowly escaped demolition in 1863. Today it houses a museum about the history of Lübeck’s long-distance trade.

The former convent church of St. Anne, built at the beginning of the 16th century, now houses the collection of the Museum of Art and Cultural History in an art gallery. The gallery was created by integrating modern structures into the old floor plans and surviving sections of wall. Together with the St. Anne’s Museum, home to Germany’s largest collection of carved altarpieces, it forms a unique architectural ensemble combining tradition and modernity.

Built in 1227, the Castle Monastery is considered the most significant monastic complex in northern Germany. After serving for a time as a remand prison, it reopened in 2005 following extensive renovation as a cultural forum with a museum of archaeology.

The Buddenbrook House , reopened in 2000 on the occasion of Expo 2000, offers a link to the more recent past. It commemorates the Mann brothers and Thomas Mann’s novel of the century, “Buddenbrooks.”

The modern Music and Congress Hall (MuK), which opened in 1994 on the Trave opposite the Old Town, has established itself as one of the most important international conference centers and has also achieved worldwide renown for its outstanding acoustics.
Scandinavian and Baltic cinema takes center stage at the Nordic Film Days, which have shaped the city’s cultural life every year in early November since 1957 and have grown into one of the world’s most important film festivals.