Holsten Gate Lübeck — welcome home

Don’t be surprised if the south tower of the Holsten Gate leans to one side like the leaning tower of Pisa! It was already clear when the Gate was built in the late 15th century that sooner or later it would start to lean with its walls measuring up to 3.5 metres in thickness. The reason is the boggy ground on the banks of the river Trave on which this massive brick building was constructed.

Over the course of the centuries, both Holsten Gate towers have sunk unevenly into the ground in spite of its pile foundations, and only extensive restoration work in 1933/34 was able to halt the growing tilt. Comprehensive restoration measures were also carried out in 2005 and 2006. The German Foundation for Monument Protection and the Possehl Foundation contributed a considerable share to the costs.

Inconceivable! But there was a time when it was touch and go whether the dilapidated gate would be torn down or not. With a majority of just one single vote, the city parliament decided after a long, contentious debate in 1863 to restore this emblem of the Hanseatic city which enjoys such fame today. The reason for the plans to tear it down was the expansion of the rail connection to Hamburg and the construction of a new railway station to which the Holsten Gate was quite literally blocking the way. What a piece of luck!