Holstentor Museum
In spite of its bulky appearance the town gate, completed in 1477, was no real fortification building. In fact it was meant to be an impressive symbol of the city's wealth and independence. The gate's front side with its massive walls and narrow embrasures stands for the permanent readiness for defence while the town side shows a face of sophisticated splendid artwork and many gothic windows. Today, the Holstentor is the main landmark of Lübeck and home of the museum of municipal history. Among the items displayed in the exhibition are antique weapons and armour as well as ship models and dioramas of medieval Lübeck. Also shown is a torture chamber equipped with historic torture instruments.
Address: Holstentorplatz, Altstadt
tel.=+49 451 122 41 29
openings=10am-5pm Tue-Sun (April to September); 10am-5pm (October to March)
admission=5 DM for adults and 1 DM for children under 18 years.

The Lubeck Coin Treasure-Der große Lübecker Münzschatz
When the house 'An der Obertrave 16’ was torn down in 1984, an excavator dug up a strange something covered in verdigris. He couldn´t have guessed that it was a real treasure ' 24,000 gold and silver coins which were hidden here for 450 years. In a unique exhibition at the Burgkloster vaults the great Lübeck 'Münzschatz”(coin treasure) and its history are displayed as a story on a merchant's products and money. It deals with the three categories of money, the trade of the Hanseatic League and the coins. So if you are interested in the reason why the 'Groschen’ is called 'Groschen’, where the 'Taler’ got its name, how many squirrel skins fit into a 1300 litre barrel or how the Medieval mint worked, you definitely have to see the exhibition.
Address: Hinter der Burg 2-4
tel.=+49 451 122 41 95
fax=+49 451 122 41 98
openings=10am-5pm Tue-Sun (April-September); 10am-4pm Tue-Sun (October-March)

Marzipan-Salon
The sweet treat marzipan definitely is a Lübeck speciality. In late 1999, the famous marzipan confectioner Niederegger opened the Marzipan Salon at his main branch in Lübeck´s pedestrian precinct. There is no admission fee, and you can learn a lot about the history and the making of marzipan. A video and many exhibits take the visitors into the world of sweets. As a special feature, you can admire marzipan figures in a size of a man. They show people who had a sweet passion-e.g. Karl IV who was not only a Roman-German emperor, but also a marzipan lover.
Address: Breite Straße 89,Altstadt
tel.=+49 451 5301126
fax=+49 451 77624
Email: info@niederegger.de
URL: http://www.niederegger.de
openings=9am-7pm Mon-Fri; 9am-6pm Sat; 10am-6pm Sun

Museumskirche St. Katharinen
It's obvious to everyone that the steeple of St. Katharine's is missing. It is in fact not really missing, but was simply never plannedm out of modesty, for St. Katharine's was the cloister church of Lübeck's Franciscans, and their order demanded humility and modesty. A steeple was regarded as idle decoration.
The choir was finished as early as 1300, while the main nave was built from 1335 to 1358. Funding was not a problem, since in the time of the Black Death the Franciscans particularly were getting huge contributions by wealthy Lübeckers who were worried about their salvation.
The Franciscans had to leave Lübeck as a result of the Reformation, the cloister was transformed into a school in 1531 and the church became Lutheran. During the Napoleonic occupation (1806-1813), St. Katharine's had to serve as military store, hospital and horse stable. After the French had left, the church was not used for divine service again. Instead, it is was used for various different things - as a warehouse, for concerts and exhibitions - even a confectionery fair took place here in 1923, before St. Katharine's at last became a museum.
Address: Königstraße 29,Altstadt
tel.=+49 451 122 41 80
getting there=Große Burgstraße: Bus 1, 4, 11, 13, etc.
openings=10-13.00; 14.00-17.00 Tue-Sun (April to September)

Budenbrooks House
Sometimes reality follows fiction. The house with the white Baroque facade has of course never been the home of the Buddenbrooks, as they were a product of Thomas Mann's literary imagination. Nevertheless, the building is known by their name today. This might be absolutely justified, since the fictitious Buddenbrook family had more than a few characteristics in commone with the Manns. And the Manns really did live here - Thomas Mann described the place of his youth in his novel 'Buddenbrooks’.
Today, the house is nothing but a stylish piece of scenery. The original palais of 1758 which contained all the rooms as described in the famous book was destroyed by bombs and only the facade remains. A new building was erected behind it in 1957, and a permanent exhibition on the work of Thomas and Heinrich Mann is displayed here. A number of rooms have also been decorated according to the novel.
Address: Mengstraße 4, Altstadt
tel.=+49 451 122 41 42
fax=+49 451 122 41 42
Email: info@buddenbrookhaus.de
URL: http://www.buddenbrookhaus.de
admission=8 DM . Guided tours Fridays 7pm and Saturdays 2pm. Admission to these costs 15 DM.
openings=10am-6pm Sat-Thu; 10am-9pm Fri

Ethnological Museum - Zeughaus / Völkerkundesammlung
The stretched building in the cathedral's shadow has seen a past full of changes and different functions. Built in 1594, it got an impressive Renaissance face, yet it was only meant to serve as the municipal grain warehouse. Later it became the weaponry for the municipal military, or Zeughaus. After that, wool was stored here, and since the beginning of the 20th century it was the headquarters of police. Today, the building is home to a collection of ethnology articles, consisting of more than 25,000 items from non-European cultures
Address: Parade 10, Altstadt
tel.=+49 451 122 43 42
admission=DM 5 for adults and DM 1 for children.
openings=10am-5pm Tue-Sun (April to September); 10am-4pm Tue-Sun (October to March)

Puppet Theatre Museum – Puppentheater-Museum
The museum is sightly hidden in one of the narrow Old Town alleys near St. Petri church and the Holstentor. It has one of the world´s largest and most impressive collections of puppets and puppet theatre equipment within its walls. The exhibition is spread over three historic buildings and displays artistically hand-made marionettes, glove puppets, props, stages, posters and shadow theatre figures, which date from the 18th and 19th centuries. Barrel organs are also on display here. The more than 1000 exhibits have been collected from all over the world.
Address: Kleine Petersgrube 4-5 / Kolk 16, Altstadtinsel
tel.=+49 45 17 86 26
getting there=Holstenstraße: Bus 10
openings=10am-6pm daily
admission=adults DM 6, students DM 5, children DM 3

St. Annen-Museum
The nuns of St. Augustine became victims of the Reformation. In 1531, the cloister was expropriated by the city council and henceforth used for profane purposes such as a poorhouse and prison. Large parts of the complex were destroyed in a fire in 1843, including the cloister's church. Nevertheless parts of the building in late gothic style have remained, serving as a museum for medieval ecclesiastical art. The collection is extraordinary prominent in quality and extent. Numerous gothic altars and church statues are displayed here, as well as completely furnished rooms of old Lübeck merchant residences.
tel.=+49 451 122 41 37

Behn and Draeger House
The Behn House and Dräger House are jewels with their faces showing the cool, yet stylish elegance of the late 18th century, and which appear so different from the austere brick faces of the old patrician residences. But the treasures are hidden inside the buildings - an extensive collection of paintings and sculptures from the 19th and 20th centuries can be seen here, and the collection is always being augmented by new items. And there are also historic rooms, demonstrating the living culture of wealthy Lübeck citizens around 1800 with original furniture. Also included among the numerous works of art are paintings by Max Beckmann, Oskar Kokoschka and Edvard Munch.
Address: Königstraße 9-11, Altstadt
tel.=+49 451 122 41 48
openings= 10am-5pm Tue-Sun