TREASURE TROVES

You will find an impressive collection of paintings by this famous artist in the Behnhouse Drägerhouse Museum – all with a special relevance to the Hanseatic city. For example, Edvard Munch created the painting “The Sons of Dr. Max Linde” after visiting this very collector and sponsor of his art from Lübeck. Explore the art collections in the Behnhouse Drägerhouse Museum!

This is probably the most famous sculpture by the multi-talented artist. Grass’ novel "The Flounder" is one of his best-known works, and the flounder is a recurring motif in his artistic oeuvre. You can view this two-metre bronze sculpture in the wonderful inner courtyard of the Günter-Grass-House in Lübeck. It was installed there in 2002 for the opening of the exhibition rooms. There are three further versions of these sculptures in Behlendorf, the artist’s final place of residence, as well as in Göttingen and Sonderburg.

The permanent exhibition in the Willy-Brandt-House in one of the impressive patrician houses in the Old Town tells the story of the life and political work of this Nobel Prize Laureate on the basis of historical artefacts, media and documents. In the interior courtyard of the elongated building, a piece of the Berlin Wall is not only a reminder of Germany’s partition, it also builds a bridge to Berlin, the town whose fate Willy Brandt steered during the construction of the Wall as the Mayor of the city. He lived to experience the celebrations of Germany’s reunification in October 1990. By the way, entry to the Willy-Brandt-House in Lübeck is free.

During the conversion phase in the Buddenbrook House, Thomas Mann’s character from the novel, Tony, invites visitors into the classical ambience of the Behnhouse Drägerhouse for a journey through time into the Lübeck of the Buddenbrooks and the Mann family. Tony talks about the novels “Buddenbrooks” and “Professor Unrat” (Small Town Tyrant), the writers Thomas and Heinrich Mann and bourgeois life in the 19th century. The most important events in the family history were recorded in the bible displayed, from the birth of their ancestor in 1644 until the time when Thomas Johann Heinrich Mann, father of Heinrich and Thomas Mann, joined a company in Amsterdam as a clerk in 1859. This family chronicle was available to Thomas Mann for his work.

Explore the UNESO World Heritage of Lübeck’s Old Town, stroll through the hidden alleyways and courtyards and enjoy the impressive brick architecture! But how did it feel, how did Lübeck’s citizens live behind the façades of these brick houses around 1300? You can find out in St. Anne's Museum! On the top floor of the 500 year-old St. Anne's Monastery, 25 rooms have been reconstructed in the style of a gabled house with side wings. How were the houses of Lübeck’s residents furnished, how did they party and dress? You can experience medieval bourgeois Lübeck on a visit to this house!