Riga – Capital of a country in transition

Riga - Arms of the Towns of Latvia


Bridge of the Locks

Staring out from old black and white 1930’s National Geographic’s are haunting visions of lost worlds bordering the Baltic Sea which were soon destined to disappear. The great Yiddish culture of Poland, the sailing fleet of the Aland Islands, the Hanseatic Free City of Danzig, Königsberg and East Prussia and the three Baltic Republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The remarkable thing about the Baltic countries is that they existed at all. Three countries with no real natural borders or great natural features other than rivers into the Russian interior and ports on the Baltic. Three countries with distinct languages, cultures, folklore and music. Three countries who traded in the goods of the Russian interior but who always looked westward and became rich as part of the remarkable enterprise known as the Hanseatic League. Perched precariously on the edge of the Russian Bear which looked upon them uncomfortably as gateways for foreign invaders they were granted their freedom by Lenin in 1918 only to have it snatched away by Stalin in 1938 who put Russia’s strategic interests and defence in the coming conflict first.







Then in 1991, in a remarkable twist of history, one of these lost world in the 1930’s Geographic’s came back to life as the Baltic Republics regained their freedom. So it was with some trepidation as to what I would find I found myself on a plane to Riga, the capital of Latvia, the Baltic Republic which regained its independence has grabbed freedom with both hands – a fact emphasised by the extensive coverage of the recent N.A.T.O. summit meeting in Riga. The mundane nature of a two hour flight from London did nothing to dispel the sense of wonder that I was going to a country which had been consumed by war and the cantharis afterwards and had disappeared from the view of the west behind the Iron Curtain – what would I find there?



Riga itself was a rich Hanseatic City and the Old Town preserves mementoes of its golden age in fine merchant buildings and the massive “Brick Gothic” churches typical of the Baltic’s. Latvia is an absorbing country and a place where things are happening with a fast changing scene since 1991 with enormous change and inward capital flows and expertise from Scandinavia & Germany in particular transforming the country, so there is a real buzz about the place. The Latvians are an interesting people with a distinct culture and language and are Lutheran as opposed to the Russians who are Orthodox. The country has suffered terribly in the 20th Century, being invaded and thrashed in both world wars and being occupied by the Nazis and Soviets. In its history Riga has both benefited and suffered for being a strategically located and important port only 300 miles from St. Petersburg so every invader of Russia attempting to cut off its access to the West and the Baltic has had to take Riga and for the same reason Russia saw holding Riga as important to its defence.





Despite its medieval origins, Riga's uniqueness as a city lies in the fact that it boasts the largest collection of Art Nouveau buildings in Europe. Between 1896 and 1913, the city expanded and a housing boom followed. The style which developed in Riga was influenced mainly by German, Austrian and Finnish architects. Mikhail Eisenstein is one of the most famous proponents of the style in Riga. After the revolution of 1905 a distinctively Latvian variation of Art Nouveau developed, known as National Romanticism. Architects started to use traditional Latvian folk elements and natural building materials. Typical elements were steep roofs, heavy structures and the use of ethnographic ornamental motifs.This style, which at the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century referred both to architecture and other fields of art, dominated in Riga for a short time, however, it left behind extraordinary colourful architectural examples.











The most famous of the local architects was Mikhail Eisenstein. His son, Sergei, was a pioneer of early cinema. Ironically, Sergei moved to Moscow to make propaganda for the Bolsheviks who despised (and eventually destroyed) the same bourgeoisie that supported his father and fed him as a child.









Art Nouveau District, Alberta Street



This coincided with the period when construction of high-rise residential buildings boomed in Riga and organically found a place in the architecture of Riga. Art Nouveau emerged in response to previous styles, especially to Eclectics, which required following particular historical styles. In contrast, Art Nouveau stresses a complete creative freedom, an expressive flight of fantasy with a tendency to show all utilitarian construction elements as artistic value. Characteristic features of Art Nouveau - sinuous lines, geometrical ornaments – divided into two main directions in Riga: decorative and romantic nationalistic Art Nouveau. Latvian architects, representatives of romantic nationalism, were E. Laube, K. Pēkšēns, A. Vanags, who created unique examples of national architecture (Tērbatas Street 15/17, Brīvības Street 47; 58; 62). Most characteristic examples of decorative Art Nouveau are buildings in Alberta Street constructed by Mikhail Eisenstein. Mikhail Osipovich Eisenstein, (1867, St. Petersburg - 1921, Berlin), was a Russian architect and civil engineer. Being a German Jew, he converted to Orthodox Christianity. He graduated from the Institute of Civic Engineering in St. Petersburg in 1893. He was the designer of a number of the Art Nouveau buildings in Riga. He built several apartment buildings for State Counsellor A. Lebedinsky, including the ones at Alberta iela 4 (1904), 6 (1903) and 13, and at Elizabetes iela 10b (1903).



See Art Nouveau District Riga;



http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/09/art-nouveau-district-riga-latvia.html











His son Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein was a well-known Soviet film director,paricularly famous for the "Battleship Potemkin" featuring the famous (and oft imitated sequence) of the baby's pram carering down the Odessa steps. It presents a dramatised version of the Battleship Potemkin uprising that occurred in 1905 when the crew of a Russian battleship rebelled against their oppressive officers of the Tsarist regime. Potemkin has been called one of the most influential films of all time, and was named the greatest film of all time at the World's Fair at Brussels, Belgium, in 1958. Today the superb Art Nouveau district around Alberta Street is an invigorating visual surprise for the first time visitor and a reminder of the pride Latvians felt in their country and the prosperity they achieved in the years of freedom early in the century and between the two World Wars.


House of the Blackheads


Astronomical Clock

There is a real difference between those who are doing well in the new Latvia and those who have been left behind. Housing stock for instance is generally substandard with a mixture of drab and rundown Soviet style apartment blocks and timber houses. There was a row of "derelict" timber houses behind the hotel but when I looked out at night there were lights on so they were inhabited! Surprisingly congestion is an issue in Riga and the Old Town is a congestion charging zone using ticket operated barriers to control access. There is no metro and the public transport infrastructure is clearly struggling with a mixture of trams, trolley buses and even the dreaded bendy buses!

Of 2.3M in the country 1.1M are Russian and this is a real fault line as they don't necessarily have Latvian (and therefore EC) passports and can't apply for government jobs unless they speak Latvian. The renovated medieval buildings and flashy new cars can't hide the fact that Rīga is still the capital of a country on the mend. The city is something like half Russian / half Latvian and the two groups have little interaction or respect for one another.



Riga airport is brand new and impressive and the team flew there on that excellent airline run by an Irish Accountant for £31 return – incidentally Ryanair’s business model is based on SouthWest Airlines which is run by an Irish-American lawyer called Herb Kelleher, who appears in their adverts clutching a glass of whiskey! We bought a package from Activitybreaks.com for £89 which included transfers, two nights B & B, a dinner with wine in a restaurant and VIP entrance to a top nightclub.

Speaking about Team Building, your Riga correspondent was taken with the range of events offered by the local handling agents, Baltic Events (www.eventstravel.net) which range from bobsleighing to flying MIG 21 fighters. The verbatim “Borat” style flyer for his personal favourite, “The KGB Experience” will give a flavour of these unique team events. Next year?

“You are invited to simple city excursion, but suddenly you will be arrested by KGB soldiers. Shooting or just "welcome schnapps". If welcome event, then tourist will be transported into some ugly place and there interrogation - why here? Spies? We will execute you and give to special secret forces....... And then group leader will come to rescue them and pay ransom......don't kill us, we'll pay.
If group has ordered shooting as well, then activity continues, on the way to shooting ground and somewhere on road James Bond or Charley Angels will free tourists and see ........KGB still alive and you all must be ready to defend yourself.”


Vansu Bridge



Stick to sightseeing in Riga! The old town is richly textured with the wondrously titled “House of the Blackheads”, essentially a palace for visiting Hanseatic merchants. Due to their indulgent lifestyle they developed blackheads and turned this into a little joke by calling this rather rich palace after what was originally its nickname! The old town is a rich and rewarding mix with Swedish gun towers, a castle, museums, Art Deco district and many fine churches including St Peter’s Cathedral in the Baltic brick gothic style. St Petri has a lift to the top of the steeple affording good views of the city and the river Daugava on which it sits.










Statue of The Latvian Riflemen



The Latvian Riflemen, whose statue is in front of the Museum of Occupation which documents the Nazi and Soviet Occupations, have a paradoxical place in the nation's heritage. They were formed with local recruits in 1915 to defend central Latvia from German troops, often bearing the brunt of the heaviest fighting. No one fights harder than the farmer defending his own field, after all. They were military heroes of Latvia, but eventually they became disillusioned with their status as cannon-fodder and turned against the Russian Tsar.



The joined the Bolsheviks, playing a key role in Lenin's seizure of power in November 1917. A year later they were given the order to execute the Tsar and his family - a delicate task not suitable for native Russians. Most importantly, they prevented a June 1918 coup that would have surely ended Lenin's reign.



The Latvian Riflemen were instrumental in setting up a regime that would eventually attempt to destroy their homeland's culture. Not surprisingly, today their grandiose Soviet-made statue sits in the middle of a barren bus stop. Still, they disbanded in a positive light and their bravery as Latvian patriots is impossible to ignore.









Zeppelin Markets



Eating out is not a problem in Riga with a wide selection of restaurants, snack bars and coffee shops. Many of the newer ones are very impressive with some very original and entrepreneurial concepts which would travel well – all we tried were excellent value for money with good service. However the two meals I enjoyed most were the cheapest, both left me with change from £2.00. On the first damp & misty morning in downtown Riga myself and a colleague got off a trolley bus by the Occupation Museum (do go and see it) and happened upon a traditional café specialising in pancakes, breakfast, savoury and sweet. Both of us enjoyed good coffee and filling pancakes for less than two pounds in the company of office workers and students who were similarly fuelling up on this cold and damp day. On our last day I found myself in the huge market complex on the edge of the Old Town known as the Zeppelin Market as 5 of the 7 market halls are former Zeppelin sheds transported from East Prussia in the 30’s. There I enjoyed a hearty traditional broth, a cutlet and vegetables and coffee and pastry for £1.70 but more than that in the midst of all the hustle and bustle I enjoyed a window onto ordinary Latvian life. Riga's Central Market has to be one of the biggest I have ever seen. It contains every form of food produced in the waters and fields of Latvia. It's a vibrant place seven days a week with people from all walks of life going about their daily business.






Orthodox Cathedral





Hitler and the Nazis may have lost the war, but they succeeded in wiping out the entire Jewish population of Rīga. Thousands of Jews, 25,000+ from Rīga alone, were murdered in the forest several kilometers outside of town. It was a simple matter for the Nazis because a local Latvian 'security' team willingly did most of the work. It's easy to overlook, but anti-Semitism was a virulent force far beyond the borders of Nazi Germany.



This pile of rubble was the Jewish synagogue. A few days after the Nazis arrived it was torched... packed tight with Rīga's first victims.





Riga Synagogue Ruins



Apart from this one stone plaque, you wouldn't know that this barren wooded park is actually the city's pre-WWII Jewish graveyard. The gravestones were removed and smashed to bits during the war.





Site of Jewish Cemetery



We did encounter some negatives which, whilst not discounting them, gave a frisson to the few days and added to the feeling that you were somewhere different. There is a major sex industry controlled by the Russian Mafioski in Riga. The local what’s on guides have a plastic encased supplement on “Riga at Night” which lists the often dubious “delights” on offer – as everywhere else, tourists should not leave their common sense at home. I wondered why the taxis in the old town where fully loaded Mercedes and BMW’s until I took one and realised they were only shop fronts – your taxi driver can provide everything and isn’t shy about telling you this. I got the distinct impression that if you wanted a Mig 21 it would be delivered to your hotel next morning – cash deal only! As in Russia and the former statelets, those two sides of the same coin, racism and xenophobia are not far below the surface. An Indian friend got abused outside a night club as a terrorist whilst inside the, otherwise impressive, nightclub a colleague got jostled and pushed because he looked “foreign.”

And whilst generalisations are dangerous the dichotomy between young Latvian men and women is both remarkable and highly visible. Latvian women have a well deserved reputation for beauty with an alluring mix of Slavic and Norse features. But more than that, they are serious and hard working grasping and appreciating the opportunities of freedom and education that the New Latvia affords them. The male 18 to 30 demographic gives a very different picture. They have an ex – military air about them, there is very obvious aggression and unattractive machismo on display and a very visible alcohol and drug problem. A small example, the night club had 6 security personnel on duty none of whom I would have picked an argument with and during the course of the night they unceremoniously frogmarched at least 10 drunken / stoned males who were causing problems and dumped them on the pavement outside.






These are as niggles set beside the energy, sense of purpose and historic and human interest to be found in Riga which makes it such a worthwhile travel destination. The persistence of the ideals of personal freedom and free association cemented by trade of the Hanseatic League can be seen in the way the cities of the newly free Baltic countries have readopted their Hanseatic titles after gaining their freedom.

My abiding feeling coming back from Riga is how important freedom is to people who have been deprived of it and how much in the West we take it for granted, not something they will ever do in Riga which is watched over by the symbol of Latvian nationhood “The Freedom Monument.”




Freedom Monument



travel

Lübeck, Queen of the Hansa.

Xmas Market


Buddenbrookhaus

Lübeck, The Queen of the Hanseatic League, was founded in 1143 as the "first German city on the Baltic coast". Surrounded by water on all sides, the old town has a historic centre dominated by seven church steeples. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list because of its superb brick Gothic architecture. The remarkable Holstentor Gate is the defining feature of the Lübeck skyline. Built between 1464 and 1478 with walls which are 3.5m thick in places, it is one of the best-known and best-preserved town gates from the late Middle Ages and featured on the old German 5 Dm. banknote. The archaeological riches found beneath Lübeck old town have provided researchers with an important insight into medieval town life.

The UNESCO inscription reads;

"Lübeck – the former capital and Queen City of the Hanseatic League – was founded in the 12th century and prospered until the 16th century as the major trading centre for northern Europe. It has remained a centre for maritime commerce to this day, particularly with the Nordic countries. Despite the damage it suffered during the Second World War, the basic structure of the old city, consisting mainly of 15th- and 16th-century patrician residences, public monuments (the famous Holstentor brick gate), churches and salt storehouses, remains unaltered."



Holstentor Gate

Lübeck lies 41 miles (66km) north east of Hamburg, close to the Baltic coast. Not only is this historic town the home of three noted Nobel Prize winners, but as a living monument to the wealthy Hanseatic merchants of the 13th century, it sports some architectural treasures that have ensured its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town's famous sons were Willy Brandt, the West German chancellor who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971, and Thomas Mann, whose novel Buddenbrooks won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1929. Günter Grass, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1999, is German author who made Lübeck his home www.guenter-grass-haus.de/



He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) of mixed Kushabian-Polish parentage. Since 1945 he has lived in (the now former) West Germany, but in his fiction he frequently returns to the Danzig of his childhood. He is best known for his first novel, The Tin Drum, a key text in European magic realism.

As far as the architecture goes, the town is known for its steeples and spires, high-gabled houses, strong towers and massive gates. Lübeck has a medieval atmosphere and many sites of cultural and historical interest: the Holsten Gate, St. Mary's Church, the town hall and historic administration building (Kanzleigebäude), alleyways and courtyards, the four-mast barque "Passat" that has become the symbol of Travemünde, the Hospital of the Holy Ghost and St. Peter's Church, whose tower offers awe-inspiring views over the town. The town is also billed as the world capital of marzipan, having been the spot where this delightful confection was first devised (there is a legend attached, of course). Samples of marzipan are freely available in Lübeck.


Travemünde with the barque "Passat"


Niederreger Marzipan Museum

Lübeck’s site was extremely promising - surrounded by the protective waters of the Wakenitz and Trave rivers, sailors were free to put off to the Baltic Sea from its shore. The city’s ruler sent his men to recruit merchants from Westphalia, from the Rhine, from Friesland and Saxony in order to help the newly-founded town blossom and flourish. But the town’s growth remained stunted in the wake of attacks, fires and conflicts between the city’s founder, Adolphus of Schauenburg and his lord, Henry the Lion. It was not until Henry the Lion refounded the city in 1159 that the project bore its first fruits.

The merchants of Lübeck set sail for the herring markets in Schoonen, reaching as far as Gotland in the 12th century and penetrating further into the Baltic’s, all the way to Novgorod: the path to Eastern Europe was finally forged. Further towns sprouted up near and around Lübeck: Wismar, Rostock, Stralsund, Greifswald, Stettin, Danzig, Elbing, Königsberg, Riga

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/08/riga-capital-of-country-in-transition.html

Reval and Dorpat, all subject to Lübeck law. Thus Lübeck rose to head the Hanseatic League as the leader of the economic power in mediaeval times. The Hanseatic League had no navy of its own, no soldiers; it lacked an executive body and a separate budget. Nevertheless, merchants from the “Dudeschen Hense” were respected - and sometimes even feared - throughout the known world. Lübeck’s merchants maintained contacts reaching from the Orient to Venice all the way to Russia. The League set up branches in the most important cities - Peterhof in Novgorod, Stalhof in London, Deutsche Brücke in Bergen and Haus der Osterlinge in Brügge.





The merchant vessel called the cog was their preferred mode of transportation. Merchants climbed aboard these large trading vessels, braving wind, waves and pirates to bring their goods to their destination. Because the Baltic Sea was Lübeck’s lifeline, it is no surprise that the people of Lübeck, huddled safely as they are in the interior, still secured themselves a clear seaway - by purchasing Travemünde in 1329. When they acquired the hamlet for a mere 1,060 Lübeck marks, they had no inkling that it would one day become a large ferry port and a seaside resort with one of the richest traditions on the Baltic Sea.

In the 12th Century the merchants of Lübeck forged the trading links which led to formation of the Hanseatic League, at its height an entirely voluntary federation of 22 towns from Bergen in Norway to Novgorod in Russia which followed Lübeck Law and used the Lübeck Mark and the German tongue for trade. In the 13th Century this was the world’s wealthiest town at the centre of a vast trading empire of Hanseatic cities and 70 other associated towns controlling the trade in Baltic Herring, Salt, Amber, Timber, Furs, Wool, Cloth, Gold, Silver and precious stones. In the 13th Century to be a Freeman of a Town meant a great deal because you were not the Feudal vassal of a Lord and you were free to follow a trade, to live where you wanted and marry as you wished. “Town air is free air” was a saying of the time and the League took its name from the Hansestag, or Town Parliament and the towns were united by a strong sense of personal freedom and Civic duty in opposition to the aristocratic control which prevailed in the rest of Europe.


City Plan



By the 1600s the influence of the league waned having been depleted by the Black Death, the 30 Years War and the rise of the Dutch. However its influence can be seen in the dominance of the maritime nations of North East Europe in world affairs driven by trade and domination of the sea routes in the latter half of the second millennium and today in the European Union which has many echoes of the Hansa past. The persistence of the ideals of personal freedom and free association cemented by trade of the Hanseatic League can be seen in the way the cities of the newly free Baltic countries have readopted their Hanseatic titles after gaining their freedom. In the 13th Century the Holy Roman Emperor made Lübeck a personal town of the Emperor, a title and independence from the surrounding province it maintained under the Kaiser until 1905.

During World War II, Lübeck was the first German city to be attacked by the Royal Air Force. The attack on 28 March 1942, first with incendiaries and then with high explosives, created a firestorm, that caused severe damage to the historic centre and destroyed three of the main churches and greater parts of the built-up area.
Marienkirche


Dom - The aftermath of the RAF fire-bombing of Lübeck, Palm Sunday 1942

In the church of St.Jakobi you can see a plaque in German to the more than 1,100 children of Lübeck who were “martyed” on Easter Sunday 1942. In fury at this medeveal gem so important to German Culture being bombed and the deliberate targeting of civilians, Hitler ordered the so called “Baedeker Blitz” on historic British towns and soon Exeter and others felt the brunt of the Luftwaffe’s revenge. The POW camp for officers Oflag X-C was located near the city from 1940 till April 1945. At the end of the war one of the biggest disasters in naval history happened in the Bay of Lübeck when Allied bombers sank three ships which, unknown to them, were packed with concentration camp inmates being transported to an execution site. About 7,000 people were killed and to this day this remains the worst loss of life in a civilian maritime disaster. Lübeck was occupied without resistance by the British Army at the end of the war.


Dom

After the war the Iron Curtain was not an abstract term but a concrete and steel reality which ran through the suburbs of Lübeck and tore it from half its hinterland whilst the town increased in size swollen by refugees. Today you will find a confident UNESCO World Heritage site rebuilt in some style after the ravages of war, a major University and Medical centre for North Germany and a town revitalised by German reunification, a major summer resort in Travemünde and a busy port revelling in the restoration of the Baltic trade routes. www.luebeck-tourism.de/

Very few cities can lay claim to changing the course of history and the shape of the modern world. Welcome to one which can, welcome to this unique and special place, Wilkommen to The Imperial and Free Hanseatic City of Lübeck.



Day 1

Take the airline run by an Irish Accountant www.ryanair.com and land at Lübeck Blankensee Airport www.flughafen-luebeck.de/

which is 8km from the town. When the writer first came here (On a day trip!) in 2000 the schedule was Ryanair in the morning, Ryanair in the evening. Today Ryanair operate from Blankensee to 6 locations and the Hungarian airline Wizz operates to a further 5. One of the reasons the airport is still here is that the former airbase was bought and is still personally owned by the Tui family who live nearby and who own Thomson Tours and the leading travel operators in most European countries. Take a taxi directly to the Ibis Hotel on Fackenburger Allee.

After you have settled in to your hotel take a gentle stroll downtown to orientate yourself and soak up the atmosphere of the Weihnachtsmarkt, the Christmas Market. Turn left down Fackenburger Alle towards the centre, Der Centrum, and soon you will come to a roundabout at Linden (Lime tree) Plaz merrily lit up with Xmas lights. Head past the Holstentor Gate across the bridge on the River Trave and straight up Holstenstor Allee. At the top you will come to Der Markt in front of the Town Hall (Der Rathaus) and the massive church of St. Marien. Here and along Breite Strasse (High Street) there will be all the fun of the Xmas Markets and don’t worry about eating as many of the stalls are food stalls where you can enjoy a real hot dog and much more! Cold? Try a hot Glühwein and if you want it stiffened with schnapps or rum ask for it “mitt strob” or made with non alcoholic wine ask for it “Spiritus frei”. Behind St. Marien you will find the enchanted forest in the Churchyard and at the end of Breite Strasse you will find the square called Koberg with the Big Wheel in front of the Heilegen-Geist-Hospital. Now, having got your bearings and soaked up the atmospherics take a cab back to the hotel and get an early night, tomorrow is a busy day! Gute Nacht!


Koberg Big Wheel


Weinachtsmarkt

Day 2 – Herzlich willkommen auf dem Lübecker Weihnachtsmarkt - Five Christmas and Arts & Crafts fairs invite you into the Old Town of Lübeck. Now for the serious Christmas Market stuff! Thousands of fairy lights and Christmas decoration in the streets and shop windows create a festive atmosphere all over the city. More than 200 stands in the Old Town of Lübeck offer toys, Christmas tree decoration, craftwork and a lot of other things. The historic fairs, the fairytale forest at the churchyard of St. Marien and the big wheel at Koberg are a special attraction.

www.luebecker-weihnachtsmarkt.de





Pick your sausage!

After breakfast, frühstück, retrace your path of the night before into town. As you come close to the Holstentor Gate you can contemplate the view of Lübeck, the spires of the churches of St. Petri, St. Marien, St. Jakobi, the sailor’s church, The Dom (fr. latin, Domus Dei, House of God), St. Katharien and St. Aegidien, the guild church, and Herz-Jesu, the catholic cathederal. By the Holstentor Gate you will find the tourist office and in the gate the town museum. To the on this side of the river by the Willy Brandt Alle you will find the site of “Ice World” for tomorrow. As you cross over the Trave river on the Holstenstorbrucke turn right on to the Obertrave quay. Here opposite the Salzspeicher, the salt warehouses, if the port is not frozen take a boat trip to get a unique perspective of this island town, its port and the back waters of the Wallhafen and Hansahafen. (about 1 hour). Tour of the city, port and canal: City-Schifffahrt - Departure: at An der Obertrave (Musik- und Kongresshalle events center) and 2 piers at An der Untertrave, every half hour.



www.cityschifffahrt.de




Triumphkreuz, St. Jakobi

Near St. Petri you will also find the Museum für Figurentheter, a wonderful puppet museum and theatre. Frau. Saraswati Fey, the proprietor’s wife is a lovely Indian lady who told me on my first visit that her daughter worked in London at Harvey Nichols and then asked “is it respectable?” What could I say? As well as the wonderful collection it gives an excellent inside view of typical Lübeck merchant’s houses.

http://www.figurentheater-luebeck.de

After the boat trip head up from Obertrave to the nearby St. Petri Church along Petersgrube. St. Petri, 800 years old, opens its doors to the more than 50 craftsmen and women offering a wide variety of traditional and contemporary gift ideas, created by artists from Northern Germany. Stroll through the festively decorated church and admire toys, leather, soap-stone, pewter, ceramics, wood, clothing made from natural fibres, woollen accessories, felt, jewellery, glass and amber, and water-colour paintings. Refreshments are served in the medieval courtyard. There is nominal entry fees which goes to charity and afterwards go up the 50m high tower by lift for a spectacular bird’s eye view of Lübeck.


Petrikirche Nave






Rathaus Cellars

Its lunch time! For a special treat and an atmospheric introduction to the cuisine of Schleswig-Holstein got through the Markt and underneath the 13th Century Rathaus you will find the Rathaus Cellars. Follow the locals and go down the stairs and you will find a wonderfully warm restaurant with flag floors, brass chandeliers and huge beer barrels – enjoy a hearty and good value lunch! Afterwards go into the Rathaus and view this fine civic building, a secular palace representing both the independence and civic pride of the Hanseatic merchants and townspeople of Lübeck. Now for a special treat. Double back along the front of the Markt to Café Niederegger. Lübeck's reputation as the "marzipan capital" stretches back to 1800. In truth, no one really knows whether marzipan was the brainchild of a particularly talented and clever confectioner or the product of a contest among the then-famed confectioners of Lübeck. The quality of the confection depends on how and in what proportions the individual ingredients are mixed together. There are quality regulations that define the quality of the almonds and limit the amount of sugar that can be added - by tradition very low in Lübeck. Upstairs at Café´Niederegger is the marzipan salon (free entry), where visitors can learn all about marzipan. The twelve life-size marzipan figures are particularly impressive. In the café at the back of the always busy shop selling a vast array of marzipan products on the ground floor enjoy a marzipan nut cake or traditional stolen with a delicious marzipan cappuccino.

More information at www.niederegger.de

Head back down towards Koberg and on the north side of the square you will find the Heilegen-Geist-Hospital.




Heilegen-Geist-Hospital.



Now on Koberg find the Arts & Crafts Fair in the Hospital of the Holy Spirit. In the unique setting of this former abbey and almshouse for senior citizens more than 150 artisans from throughout Germany, Scandinavia, and the Baltic States, exhibit their arts and crafts under one vaulted roof. Here you will find ceramics, wood, textiles, silk-design, felt, glass & crystal, jewellery, amber, watercolour paintings and cards, etc. Fresh homemade waffles, delicious cakes and beverages, wine and cheese, hot-spiced punch, soup and open-faced sandwiches invite you to linger whilst seasonal music performances create a yuletide feel. On December 10th pastor Baltrock will give readings at 6pm at the cloister. This unparalled Christmas fair is, hosted by the members of "Frau & Kultur, eV. “ group Lübeck, and the net proceeds are donated to various social and cultural charities in Lübeck. Afterwards wander back through the stalls and take a ride on the Big Wheel in Koberg for a view of the port and the Xmas fairs all around you.

Day 3

On this the Second Sunday of Advent at 10.00 am you must be at the church of St. Mary’s (St. Marien) www.st-marien-luebeck.de to experience a Lutheran Advent service in a great Baltic Brick Gothic Cathedral.


Alfred Mahlau (1955-56) - Dance of Death window, Marienkirche


Altar



St. Mary’s is the church of the council of Lübeck and the 3rd biggest church in Germany. She is the archetype for many gothic churches in the whole Baltic area. St. Mary’s houses much artwork, for example the "Triumphkreuz" of Gerhard Marcks (1945), as well as the biggest mechanical organ in the world. From 1667 till 1707 Dietrich Buxtehude, the famous church musician and composer, was the organist in St. Marien. The teachings of Martin Luther and the Reformation were enthusiastically embraced by the burghers of Lübeck who were attracted the freedom of thought and lack of outside interference it offered which resonated with their civic values. Former catholic churches like St. Marien were stripped of their decoration and today their interiors give a unique resonance to the music of the Organ and the Chorale. The Pulpit is always in the middle of these churches so all can hear the word.


Astronomical Clock, St. Marien



Afterwards head down Beckergrube to the Untertrave quayside and turn left along the quay to the Holstentor past the sailing barques & schooners and cross the river by the gate to Ice World 2006. Enjoy the frosty and fascinating atmosphere of Ice World in the “Christmas city of Northern Germany”. Together Ice World and the skating rink will turn the famous scenery of the medieval old town into glittering dreamworld made of snow and ice. This year Ice World takes place directly at the Music and Congress Centre at the Trave river, Willy-Brandt-Allee, on an area of 800 square metres in a special thermal tent with a constant temperature of 8 C below zero. This temperature is necessary to keep in shape those frosted works of art, some of them with a height of 6 metres. A combination of special lighting and the reflection from snow and ice will present the works of art in a stunning colourful splendour. The statues will be made of 150,000 kilos of ice and 200 m³ of snow by an international team of ice artists. Tip: When visiting Ice World do not forget to bring warm clothes. And after your visit to the amazing world of ice sculptures you can enjoy the cosy winter village offering hot spicy wine, coffee and hot chocolate. The large ice-skating rink with a surface of approximately 600 square metres offers fun on ice. www.iceworld.de/content/blogcategory/19/113/


Salt Warehouses

Day 4

For this your final day you should have got your feet. If you have not done so head up to the other end of town to the Dom, The Cathedral of Lübeck.

www.domzuluebeck.de

This romantic building is the oldest monument in Lübeck. After the city became diocesan town in 1160 Henry the Lion started to build this enormous church building. The Cathedral of Lübeck contains much fine artwork including the 17 metres high "Triumphkreuz" of Bernt Noke (1477). The astronomical clock still runs on its original clockworks with the original movement till today. Nearby is the must see St. Annen Museum. Enjoy a guided tour at St. Anne's and find the answer to the question: why do we set up a Christmas tree? Back into downtown and make sure behind St. Marien you find Budden-brookhaus www.buddenbrookhaus.de to both gain an insight into the world of the great writer Thomas Mann and his brother and to see the largely Victorian interior of a prosperous merchant’s house. Buddenbrooks has now been made into a major movie featuring Lübeck as a magnificent backdrop.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/12/buddenbrooks.html








Other shopping and sight seeing opportunities are:

Shopping and Dining in Lübeck

Take time to discover: Heick + Schmalz (salt loft) where the historic salt granary now displays fine clothing for the entire family. Modifications were carried out at the Town Hall Arcades which now house retail shops and a café. Strolling along the specialty shopping streets, such as the Fleischhauerstrasse or the Hüxstasse, one is charmed by the variety of buildings and facades spanning the Gothic, Baroque, and Classicism periods. Karstadt with the largest downtown restaurant also boasts Lübeck’s longest fish and cheese stand. The Linden Arcades, centrally located at the main train station, offers everything from electronics to whole foods.
Two of the myriad examples of fine dining in Lübeck are the "Schiffergesellschaft" and the "Schabbelhouse". Germany´ s oldest restaurant, "Schiffergesellschaft", across from St. Jakobi, is a favourite not just for sea farers. The Schabbelhaus at Mengstrasse, artfully restored, serves delicious lunch and dinner specialties in a relaxed and charming atmosphere



Museums in the Old Town of Lübeck

Lübeck is an important cultural centre and especially at Christmas time a visit to the Christmas fair should be combined with a visit in one or more of the town’s museums. Enjoy the quiet and reflective atmosphere and the unique combination of historic buildings and interesting exhibitions.

www.museen.luebeck.de

Discover the diverse expressive output of the author Günter Grass at the Günter Grass house
• Experience the "small MoMa" in the art hall with works by Picasso, Beckmann and others
• Discover the nativity traditions of other nations at the Völkersammlung
• Get fascinated by the topic of "biotechnology" and learn about beer, cheese and penicillin (!) at the museum of nature and environment
• Walk around the most important cloister of Northern Germany, the Burgkloster, and visit the permanent exhibition "every day life in the Middle Ages in Lübeck"
• Visit the Holstentor museum, and review the rise of Lübeck as the queen of the Hanse
• Enter one of the most beautiful merchant houses, the Behnhaus / Drägerhaus, and be fascinated by the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich, Max Liebermann and others
• Experience the church museum St. Katharinen or visit the Herrenwyk to find out more about life and work in the 20’s and 30’s.


St. Annen Museum Apotcherary

HOTELS.

Budget 2* - Ibis Hotel, Altstadt in Laufweite, www.accor.com

Traditional 3* - Hotel Lindenhof, Altstadt in Laufweite, www.luebeck-tourism.de/static/onlinebuchen/index_l.html

Luxury 4* - Hotel Radisson Senator, Altstadt in Laufweite, www.senatorhotel.de/start_.asp?is=2

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