Lubeck, Germany

Lubeck City – One of the Main Ports of Germany

Lubeck, a city in Schleswig Holstein, northern Germany is one of the main ports of Germany on the river Trave. It had been the leading city of the Hanseatic League owing to its extensive Brick Gothic architecture which is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It has a population of around 218,523 in 2015. The old area of Lubeck is on an island which is enclosed by the Trave and the Elbe-Lubeck Canal tends to link the Trave with the Elbe River.

 In the proximity of the town centre is another important river Wakeknitz. The Autobahn 1 links Lubeck with Hamburg and Denmark. Travemunde is a sea resort with ferry port on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Lubeck Hauptbahnhof links Lubech to various railway lines particularly the line to Hamburg. Lubeck which was the former capital and Queen City of the Hanseatic League, was established in the 12th century and flourished till the 16thcentury as the main trading centre for northern Europe. Till date it tends to remain a centre for maritime commerce especially with the Nordic countries.

Protected By Act on the Protection & conservation of Monuments

In spite of the damage it suffered at the time of the Second World War, the simple structure of the old city comprising mostly of 15th and 16th century aristocratic residence, churches, public monuments- the well-known Holstentor brick gate and salt storehouse, tend to remain unchanged as an urban monument characteristic of a significant historical structure.

 Around 20% of it had been destroyed inclusive of the most popular monumental complexes, namely the Cathedral of Lubeck, the churches of St Peter and St Mary, particularly the Grundungsviertel, the hilltop quarter wherein the gabled houses of the rich merchants gathered. Only some reconstruction was permitted to replace most of the important churches and monument. A greater number of historic monuments together with the Old Town Island are protected by the Act on the Protection and Conservation of Monuments in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is said that the Monument Preservation Plan is the basis for town planning as well as architectural interventions.

Responsible for Administration of World Heritage Property

Moreover, Lubeck’s historic centre is protected by a preservation decree and a design decree. The quarters of the late 19th century surrounding the Old Town have been protected by preservation statutes. The regional development programme of the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein safeguards the protection of the view axes and the outline of the World Heritage property.The City of Lubeck is said to be responsible for the administration of the World Heritage property.

The World Heritage commissioner organises the coordination between the shareholders within the municipal structure to suitably indicate possible threats to the Outstanding Universal Value as well as to ensure the integrations of applicable issues in the planning process, an integrative monitoring approach and a sustainable progress of the World Heritage property. In order to protect and sustain the Outstanding Universal Value, a buffer zone together with view axes outside the buffer zone are placed, ensuring the long-term protection together with constant preservation of important views and of the structural reliability.