Exploring Lüneburg

It is hard to believe that this small, former Hanseatic town was once one of the wealthiest in Germany. Its prosperity was founded on salt mines. Opened in 956, they provided work for more than 2,000 people by the late Middle Ages and were the largest industry in Europe.

Luneburg’s most important monument is the Rathaus (town hall). The interior is even more intriguing than the frequently rebuilt facade, in particular the Grober Ratssaal (the main hall) with its Gothic stained-glass windows and 16th-century frescoes of the Last Judgement, as well as the Grobe Ratsstube (council chamber) with Renaissance woodwork by Albert von Soest.

The Museum im Rathaus (town hall museum) holds a remarkable collection of municipal silverware. Johnniskirche, one of Luneburg’s three Gothic churches, stands on Am Sande.

It has a 108-m (354-ft) west tower, which leans more than 2 m (6 ft) from the perpendicular. In one of its five naves there is a panelled painting dating from 1482–5, the masterful work of the German painter Hinrik Funhof. Also interesting is the soaring basilica of Michaeliskirche, consecrated in 1409.

Not far from here is the old port on the Ilmenau River. On Luber Strade stands the Altes Kaufhaus, a former herring warehouse with a Baroque facade. The 14th-century wooden crane was rebuilt in the 18th century. It was used to load salt onto ships. The decorative wavy brick lines (Taustäbe) on many of the old buildings are characteristic of the town.

Lüneburger Heide

South of Hamburg, between the rivers Elbe and Aller, is a large sprawling area of heathland, grazed by heifers and sheep and buzzing with bees in the heathers and pine forests. Until the Middle Ages, this area was covered by dense mixed forests, but these were felled in order to satisfy demand for wood in the saltworks of Luneburg.

The half-stepped terrain provides grazing land for Heidschnucken, the local breed of sheep. The heather moors are best seen at the Naturschutzpark Lüneburger Heide, a large area of nature reserve founded in 1921. From the village of Undeloh it is best to continue by foot, bike or carriage to the traditional village of Wilsede. From Wilsede it is not far to Wilseder Berg, the highest peak of this moraine region. The view of the surrounding countryside is particularly beautiful at the end of August, when the purple heather is blooming.