Holstentor: A Medieval Gem
One of the important landmarks of Germany, Holstentor is known for preserving the shipping past and the history of the urban development of Lübeck.
Location:
Holstentor or the Holsten Gate lies on the western perimeter of the Historical Old Town of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (Hansestadt Lübeck), a famous city in a south-eastern part of the state of Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany.
Weather:
In Lübeck, July and August are the warmest months on an average with temperatures reaching up to a little over 20 degrees Celsius. The coldest month of the year, January has -1 degree Celsius as its daily mean temperature. July receives the highest amount of precipitation, but the months of January, November and December experience the most number of rainy days. The best months to visit Holstentor are from May to September, for the weather conditions are usually pleasant.
History:
The city of Lübeck became the most powerful member of the Hanseatic League or the Hanse, a medieval commercial group of merchant associations and guilds, and came to be known as the “Queen of the Hanseatic League” in the 13th century. As the city made progress and continued to grow bigger and better, the need to protect itself from potential external invasions was felt, following which, the construction of Holstentor as a defense structure begun in 1464 by Hinrich Helmstede, an architect from Lübeck. It was completed in 1478 with an Inner Holsten Gate, an Outer Holsten Gate, a Second Outer Holsten Gate, and the Middle Holsten Gate, which now exists as the Holsten Gate we know of. Unfortunately, the Second Outer Holsten Gate in 1808, the Inner Holsten Gate in 1828, and the Outer Holsten Gate in 1853 were demolished, leaving only the former Middle Holsten Gate to stand. In 1863, the gate was decided to be restored as it had continued to sink a few centimeters into the marshy ground every year. It was restored a second time in 1933-34 and was converted by the Nazi Army into a museum named “Hall of Honor and Glory”, representing the history of Germany and Lübeck from the point of view of Nazism. The Holsten Gate, along with the Hanseatic City of Lübeck, was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, after which, a final restoration became compulsory between March 2005 and December 2006. A swastika dating back to 1934, which had been considered to be the last one to remain still on a German public building, was stolen. Today, Holstentor is one of the only two remaining city gates of the city walls of Lübeck, the other one being the castle or Citadel Gate (Burgtor).
The Gate:
The Holsten Gate comprises two twin cylindrical towers – a north tower and a south tower with conical or pointed roofs, that lean across the pediment of the central building (Mittelbau) connecting them. This four-floored gate of red bricks was constructed in the Brick Gothic (Backsteingotik) style of architecture.
The field side, which is the side facing away from the city towards the west, differs widely in case of designs from the city side, that is the side of the gate facing east in the direction of the city. For instance, the walls on the field side have numerous embrasures or arrow loops that were meant for the use of archers, and only a few small windows. The city side, on the other hand, is interspersed with windows. The central block’s pediment is crowned by three towers, which can be seen from the city side alone. The windows in the central building above the passageway of the gate were designed to pour boiling water or pitch on invaders.
The building is encircled by two terracotta stripes which contain mostly square tiles with sides of 55 centimeters. One of three ornaments – symmetrical latticework, an emblem of four lilies, or an arrangement of four thistle leaves, decorates each of these tiles.
In both the towers, the highest ceilings are found on the ground floor and the first upper story. On each of the four floors, the rooms of the central building and the tower rooms at the same level are joined by corridors.
An inscription over the passageway on the city side reads “1477 SPQL 1871.” 1477 is supposed to be the year in which the Holsten Gate was constructed; SPQL in full form means “the Senate and People of Rome”; 1871 is the year during which the gate was restored and the German Empire (Deutsches Reich) was founded. Another text, “CONCORDIA DOMI FORIS PAX”, meaning “harmony in the interior, peace in the exterior,” can be seen inscribed in golden letters on the field side above the passageway. Two majestic iron statues of lions, one sleeping and the other awake, guard the Holsten Gate in front.
The Gate remains open from January to March every day except on Mondays from 11:00 am till 5:00 pm. Between April and December, it welcomes you daily from 10:00 am till 6:00 pm. However, it stays closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas day, New Year’s Eve and on New Year day.
How to Get There:
In order to get to Lübeck from Hamburg Airport, which is the nearest international airport, you can take the suburban train S1 from the airport to the central railway station of Hamburg, from where you need to get on a commuter train or an InterCity train to Lübeck. It takes a total time of approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. As the city of Lübeck is located around 60 kilometers to the north-east of Hamburg, you can also get there through the Autobahn A1 by car. Another way to reach Lübeck is by boat or ferry, which runs about 1 or 2 times per day.
Having arrived at Lübeck, you can make your way towards Holstentor on foot from the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station) or from the central bus terminal ZOB (Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof), both of which are close to the Holsten Gate.
Why Visit?
Lübeck, being a crucial center for trade and commerce in Germany in the olden days, has had Holstentor as its symbol and emblem. The gate featured on the 50 DM (Deutsche Mark) bank notes that were produced between 1960 and 1991, and can also be spotted on a German 2-euro coin. Since 1926, a conventionalized form of Holstentor has appeared in the tokens of the German Association of Cities. Imparting a fairytale mien, the Holsten Gate with its twin towers looks almost like a castle out of Disneyland. One of the most well-known German buildings in the world, next to the Cologne Cathedral, the Brandenburg Gate, and Munich’s Church of Our Lady, a chance to visit Holstentor shouldn’t possibly be missed!
Major Attractions:
Holstentor offers the following chief spots of interest for tourists:-
- The Holsten Gate Museum (Museum Holstentor) – The Holsten Gate has been serving as a museum for local history since 1950. Models and pictures illustrating the development of Lübeck in the medieval times, excavations from the old town of Lübeck, replicas of ships of the Hanseatic League, and relevant documents of the traders and merchants of Lübeck were presented in this museum. It also had a torture chamber with dungeons and other devices for torture, but these were removed when the museum was modernized in 2002. Since 2006, the management of the museum has been carried on by the Cultural Foundation of Lübeck (Kulturstiftung Hansestadt Lübeck). Every Saturday, the museum offers a guided tour titled “Lübeck in the Middle Ages” from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm. A large number of tourists visit this place on the day.
- Exhibition of “The Power of Trade” – Inside the palatial Holsten Gate Museum, the well designed exhibition from 2003 has 7 to 9 theme rooms with exciting discoveries in store for you. The first room shows European foreign trade in the times of the Hanseatic League, and you can look at a presentation of the local trade in the Hanseatic City of Lübeck in the second room. A prototype of the Hanseatic City made up of bricks is presented to you in the third room. The fourth room focuses on the significance of seafaring and maritime activities which contributed to the economic prosperity of Lübeck. The other rooms are dedicated to information on the history and development of Holstentor, Lübeck law and order system, and criminal jurisprudence with reference to torture instruments of the late medieval period. As you walk around, you feel as though you can smell the traded goods and hear the mayor speaking to the markets of medieval times.
- The Holsten Gate Square (Holstentorplatz) – Just outside the Historical Old Town of Lübeck, the Holstentorplatz extends from east to west with a length of 170 meters and a width of 70 meters. This elongated square, which opens on the Holsten Gate directly to the east, has a green interior, while its outer space is designed as a road with multiple lanes.
- The salt storage (Salzpeicher) – The construction of this group of warehouses, situated at the Travelodge or Obertrave River close to Holstentor, was started in 1579 and continued till 1745. The Obertrave illuminated by the lights of the salt storage at night is a sight worth seeing.
- Mary’s Church (Marienkirche) – To the left of Holstentor is positioned Marienkirche, that was constructed in the period between 1250 and 1350 with the world’s tallest brick vault. This Church is another landmark of Lübeck that represents the Brick Gothic architectural style.
What Else is Around?
- Peter’s Church
- The Puppen Bridge or Puppenbrücke
- Training and research facility of Lübeck’s University of Music or Musikhochschule Lübeck
- Travemunde
- Buddenbrookhaus
- The Lübeck Museum of Theater Puppets or Theaterfigurenmuseum
- The Cathedral of Lübeck or Lübecker Dom (Duomo di Lubecca in Italian)
With lots to explore and move around, Holstenstor seems apt for a thrilling holiday vacation spot for anyone who seeks to enjoy and relax a bit. All the above features make Holstentor an interestingly informative place to visit. A must stop for you and your family. So go ahead and visit Holstentor with family and friends and explore the place. These memories will stay in your heart forever.