Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Landmarks
Lübeck
The Holsten Gate (Holstentor) in Lübeck is the brick city gate that has become a symbol of northern Germany: two squat round towers with conical roofs flanking a stepped gable, completed in 1478. It guards the western entrance to Lübeck's…
Museums
Lübeck
The European Hansemuseum in Lübeck is considered the world's largest museum devoted to the Hanseatic League, the medieval trading network that once dominated northern Europe. Set at the northern tip of Lübeck's UNESCO-listed old town, it t…
Palaces
Eutin
Eutin Castle (Eutiner Schloss) is a four-winged brick palace on a moated island in the Großer Eutiner See in Schleswig-Holstein, in the region known as Holstein Switzerland. Once a residence of the prince-bishops of Lübeck and later a summ…
Historic sites & memorials
Busdorf
Hedeby (Haithabu in German), near Schleswig in northern Germany, was one of the great trading towns of the Viking Age and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On the shore of the Haddeby Noor, a quiet inlet of the Schlei, merchants from ac…
Landmarks
Lübeck
Lübeck Town Hall on the city's market square is one of the largest medieval town halls in Germany and a showpiece of the Brick Gothic style that defined the Baltic trading cities. From here the merchants of the "Queen of the Hanseatic Leag…
Monuments
Laboe
The Laboe Naval Memorial (Marine-Ehrenmal Laboe) is a memorial to sailors of all nations lost at sea and, with its 72-meter (236-foot) brick tower, the landmark of the Kiel Fjord. From the viewing platform you look out over the Baltic Sea,…
Churches & monasteries
Ratzeburg
Ratzeburg Cathedral (Ratzeburger Dom) stands on the cathedral island in the town of Ratzeburg and is one of the best preserved Romanesque brick churches in northern Germany. It is the oldest of the four "Lion Cathedrals" founded by Henry t…
Churches & monasteries
Schleswig
Schleswig Cathedral (St. Petri-Dom) is the landmark of the town of Schleswig and one of the most important historic churches in Schleswig-Holstein. Its tall neo-Gothic tower rises above the Schlei inlet, and inside you will find the Bordes…
Palaces
Ahrensburg
Ahrensburg Palace (Schloss Ahrensburg) is a white Renaissance moated palace in the Hunnau valley near Hamburg and one of the best-known manor houses in Schleswig-Holstein. Completed in 1585, it mirrors its green-capped turrets in the surro…
Museums
Schleswig
Gottorf Castle (Schloss Gottorf) in Schleswig is the former seat of the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorf and today the home of the Schleswig-Holstein State Museums. Its long white Baroque facade rises from an island at the head of the Schlei inle…
Churches & monasteries
Lübeck
St. Mary's Church in Lübeck (St. Marien zu Lübeck) is the great merchants' church of the Hanseatic League and the model for around 70 churches across the Baltic region. Its nave has the highest brick vault in the world, and its twin spires…