Holstentor: Lübeck’s Most Famous Gate
The Holstentor is the great brick gate that stands at the western end of the old town of Lübeck, and it is one of the most recognisable medieval gates in Europe. The Holstentor was built in 1464–1478, and it is one of the principal monuments of the brick Gothic style that the League’s builders developed. The Holstentor is, in many ways, the symbol of the city, and it is, in some sense, the symbol of the League itself.
The western gate
The Holstentor was built as part of the city’s fortifications, and the gate was one of four principal gates that gave access to the old town. The gate was, in the first instance, a defensive structure, and the gate’s massive towers and thick walls were designed to withstand the assault of an attacking army. The gate’s two towers, which are connected by a central section, are roughly 30 metres high, and the walls are several metres thick. The gate’s façade is decorated with reliefs and inscriptions that commemorate the city’s history, and the reliefs and inscriptions are some of the finest examples of the brick Gothic style.
The Holstentor was the principal gate on the western side of the city, and the gate faced the Holstein, the region to the west of Lübeck. The gate was, accordingly, the principal point of entry for merchants and travellers coming from the west, and the gate was a major commercial centre. The gate’s central section contained a customs house, and the gate’s towers contained guard rooms and storage rooms.
A useful detail: the original gate had a third central tower, which was demolished in the 19th century. The present gate, with its two remaining towers and the central section, dates from a partial restoration completed in 1871. The famous image of the Holstentor (on marzipan boxes, postcards, and tourist brochures worldwide) is, in effect, a 19th-century restoration of a 15th-century structure.
Post-war restoration
The Holstentor survived the bombing of 1942, which destroyed much of the old town, and the gate was carefully restored in the 1950s and 1960s. The restoration was, in many ways, a model of the post-war restoration of the old town, and the restoration was carried out with great care. The gate is today part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lübeck’s old town, and the gate is one of the principal tourist attractions of the city.
The Holstentor appears on German two-euro commemorative coins (2006), on the city’s coat of arms, and on countless souvenirs. The gate is, in some sense, the most reproduced medieval building in Germany — a remarkable status for a structure whose modern form is largely a 19th-century restoration.
A modern symbol
The Holstentor is also a symbol of the city’s modern identity. The gate is depicted on the city’s coat of arms, and the gate is depicted on many of the city’s products, including the famous Lübeck marzipan. The gate is, in this sense, one of the most visible symbols of the city’s Hanseatic heritage, and the gate is an important part of the city’s modern identity.
The 2006 German €2 commemorative coin featured the Holstentor to mark the 1,200th anniversary of the founding of Lübeck (counting from 1143). The design, by Münze Berlin, depicts the gate with the river Trave in the foreground. The coin is one of the more widely collected German €2 commemoratives.