Maritime Wonders: Germany's Hanseatic Cities

This morning we venture to the bustling city of Bremen, where we start with a visit to the Cathedral and continue to the Marktplatz with its famous Roland statue, the Rathaus with its ornate 13th century facade, and Böttcherstraße, a medieval street in origin but now an internationally-important street of Expressionist architecture. After lunch, we drive to Bremerhaven to explore the German Ship Museum which contains the Bremen cog, a 14^th century trading vessel recovered from the River Weser.

The day starts with the Hanseatic town of Stade where we explore its ancient centre, known for its timber framed buildings, and its Hanseatic harbour. In the afternoon, we visit Lüneburg, which was the centre of an important medieval salt trade as well as home to great brick gothic churches built from the wealth accrued from trade. We end the day with a visit to the port, which preserves the remains of a medieval crane.

We spend all day in Lübeck, perhaps the most important Hanseatic city which has been UNESCO listed for its brick gothic architecture. We start with a visit to the new Hanseatic History Museum and continue with a walking tour of the city where we explore the medieval splendours the city has to offer, including the dramatic city gates, the Burgtor and Holstentor. We also explore the city’s churches, notably the Marienkirche and Petrikirche, as well as the street of Große Petersgrube, and civic buildings such as the Heiligen-Geist medieval hospital. Along the way, we will examine the everyday life of the medieval city through its merchant houses and warehouses.

Our exploration of Lübeck continues today as we start at the 12^th century brick built gothic Cathedral which was damaged during World War II but still preserves precious gothic art by Bernt Notke. We continue with the St-Annen museum, which contains the most significant collection of medieval sculpture and altar pieces in Germany, followed by viewing of archaeological discoveries from the recent Gründungsviertel excavations with a German archaeologist. In the afternoon, we will have free time to wander around the city.

This morning we venture to Wismar, a World Heritage Site, which is famed for its colossal market square as well as a Hanseatic harbour. We lunch in Bad Doberan, where we briefly see its Minster, a 14^th century church belonging to an ex-Cistercian abbey which is perhaps the greatest example of northern ‘brick gothic’ architecture. We proceed to Rostock, where we visit two important churches, the Nikolaikirche and the Marienskirche which testify to the city’s wealth in the medieval period. We end the day with a tour of the Cultural Museum which is located in a 13^th century ex-Cistercian monastery and which gives precious evidence for the merchant classes in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

We drive to Hamburg where we take return flight back to London.