Lübeck's Old City

Lübeck's Old City is a district of brick Gothic buildings, five medieval churches with seven spires, and numerous merchant houses surrounded by water channels. The area sits on an island and shows the typical layout of a medieval Hanseatic trading city.

The district was founded in 1143 and quickly became a major trading center on the Baltic Sea. In the Middle Ages, it became the capital of the Hanseatic League, a network of trading cities that dominated commerce in northern Europe for centuries.

The district shows the character of an old port city with merchant houses and narrow streets shaped by water channels. This layout reflects how traders and seafarers lived and worked here over the centuries.

The district is accessible on foot via several bridges and is best explored at your own pace. Detailed maps and information signs throughout help you locate key buildings and landmarks.

Excavations at a building site uncovered thousands of gold and silver coins, revealing how wealthy the merchants here were. This discovery showed the true scale of medieval trade and the city's prosperity at that time.