These pictures of the Innestadt Lubeck were taken from the tower of St. Petri's Church. This is a gothic building that no longer functions as a church but is where you can attend concerts.  It was badly damaged in the Palm Sunday Allied bombing 1942 and it took a long time to rebuild it. One fifth of the city was destroyed over that two day period. There is an observation area atop the tower which is open for viewing. These pictures were taken from this tower of the former church in September. Lubeck is a Hanseatic port city. It is one of the major ports of Germany. The city is surrounded by water and this old portion is known as the Innestadt. This is where my son is living in his student apartment. I have written a few posts about Lubeck and you can see links to them on my page. To learn more about Lubeck, you can read good, factual listings on Wikipedia.

This is a view of the part of the city and the water which surrounds it.

This is the same view in winter.

 This is a view of Marian Kirche, which is the Church of St. Mary. It was built between 1250 and 1350. It is located behind the Town Hall and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as is much of the surrounding area. It was severely damaged during WWII. This happened during the Palm Sunday bombing raid which caused the most damage of the war in this city. It is still in service as a church today. There are many gothic paintings and artifacts located in the church including a life sized wood carved statue of John the Baptist (Evangelist).

 Winter is beautiful, but without the warmth of fall. 

The Tor is symbolic of Germany. It has been on Marks and Euros.

 This is a view of the Holstentor  which marked the west entrance of the once walled city. There is one more Tor and that is the Burgtor or city gate. The other two gates are gone as well as the fortifications or walls which surrounded the city. The Holstentor is very symbolic of the city. Lubeck is known for it's Marzipan. One brand features the gate on the packaging.

 A warm view just down from the bridge.

 The existence of these gates was first mentioned in 1216. They evolved through the years and there was a major demolition that was taking place in the 1800 to accommodate more modern improvements to the city and eventually a rail system. In 1852 they decided to keep the remaining gates even though some citizens had petitioned for their final removal. In 1933 - 34  a restoration took place that altered in several ways the actual gate, it did not significantly change it's appearance however. The Nazi's also made it into a museum at this time. It was called the Hall of Honor and Glory and it was to represent Lubeck and Germany from the point of view of Nazi ideology. The next restoration took place in 2006 at that time a swastika building symbol was finally removed. It is said to have been the last one remaining on a public building in Germany. A plate showing the restoration date is now in its place. There is a cultural museum housed there today. I have some pictures which I will share in another post.

 Here is a close up of Mariankirche. Here you can see the beautiful light playing off the flying buttresses. 

Kids.

Copyright 2011 Words by SheilaTGTG55  

Photography by Henry Bernhardt