Last Updated on: 27th December 2024, 01:30 pm
Lübeck is a small town in Germany that is famous for two things: its medieval old town charm, and marzipan. This article contains lots of beautiful photos of Lübeck in winter and will cover its Christmas market, and the delicious chocolate from the marzipan shop Niederegger, plus how you an get the chocolates at a discount (hint: go after Christmas).
Lübeck is in northern Germany in the state of Schleswig Holstein, and has a small river running through it. Every city and town in Germany has an Altstadt (historical city center) of varying degrees of preservation. Lübeck’s old town has grand, medieval European buildings, churches with buttresses, and some cobblestone grounds. Lübeck is a popular tourist destination at any time of the year. It takes less than one hour by a direct train from Hamburg and can be seen in a day as a day trip. The most recognisable and most famous landmark of Lübeck is the Holstentor (the Holsten Gate), which this post will not go over. Instead, this post will show you what Lübeck looks like in winter, plus an itinerary for your consideration and a pictorial guide on what is available at the Lübeck Christmas market.
Lübeck in winter around Christmas time – Photos
Here are some photos of Lübeck in winter around Christmas time. Although everyone wants a white Christmas, this is getting less and less common around the world, and it is sadly not guaranteed. These photos were taken a few days before actual Christmas day (ie December 25th), and on Decembr 25th, all the snow had completely gone. But these photos show you what Lübeck looks like when there is snow.
The Lübeck Christmas market
In Germany, Christmas markets, which can range from tiny neighbourhood ones with just a handful of stalls, to large ones in major cities like Hamburg with a hundred stalls, can be found in every town. Every town has at least one Christmas market, and they generally start around the middle of November and last until the end of December.
Although the Hamburg Christmas market is considerably larger, the Lübeck one has a cosier atmosphere and a real Christmasy vibe to it because it is just the right size: not too small and not too large, with a wide variety of stalls selling hot food, sweets, souvenirs, and drinks.
Additionally, the Christmas market in Lübeck is held near a medieval church, and the local architecture and cobblestone and paved brick grounds just make it all the more exciting.
I’ve already covered Christmas markets in a different post which you can read here. The advice is the same. Instead, here are some photos of the things available at the Lübeck Christmas market.
Why you should consider going to Lübeck AFTER December 25th
I am not saying you shouldn’t go to a christmas market on the actual Christmas day. Christmas markets are busy on any day in Decmber and while it’s the same for the stall holder, it’s probably more exciting to go to a Christmas market on Christmas day.
However, if you want to go to Lübeck to buy the Christmas chocolate at the marzipan shop, you should go after December 25th.
Niederegger is a famous shop, cafe and marzipan museum all in one in Lübeck. It is most famous for its marzipan, and models of the Holstentor created by Niederegger can be seen throughout Lübeck, such as in the train station.
Niederegger also makes chocolate, and around Christmas time, they make Christmas themed chocolate, for example, star shaped chocolate, or chocolates with bratapfel (baked apple) flavour fillings.
Discounted Christmas chocolate
If you go to Niederegger after December 25th, such as December 26th or 27th etc, any day immediately after Christmas on a day they are open, you’ll find that their Christmas chocolate and marzipan is on sale at a heavy discount. When I went, they were 50% off, and there were a lot of people shopping there. This is a great way to save if you are shopping for yourself and want to take them home with you. They are the exact same chocolate (packed in sealed packaging) but being sold cheaply since they are Christmas themed chocolate and Christmas day is technically over by then. With the same money, you can buy twice the amount and take them home to eat and enjoy a taste of Lübeck Christmas for a long time. Note that this only applies to the Christmas chocolate and marzipan and not to their usual varieties of chocolate or marzipan.
Experience the Christmas market all the same
If you only have one day to spend in Lübeck for Christmas, you can kill 2 or even more birds depending on what else you want to do, with just one stone. As mentioned before, although some Christmas markets close on Christmas Day or the day after, most of the Christmas markets are open till closer to the end of December. Although there are (typically) no discounts at the Christmas market, you can make one trip and still enjoy the same Christmas market at Lübeck with the same food and the same vibe.
Warning: One downside to this approach is that some of the non-consumable souvenirs might be approaching or already have approached limited stock or is sold out by the time you go towards the last week of December, even if it is before Christmas day. For example, Käthe Wohlfahrt, one of Germany’s largest Christmas market stall holders, sells Christmas ornaments. They are long term stall holders with their own stall in the same place at each market, every year. They make some detailed mouth blown and hand painted and decorated glass ornaments, so each one is unique. I was lucky to one of the last few Holstentor tree ornaments after Christmas day since they were almost all sold out (ornaments can be regional, the Holstentor ornament is not available in their Hamburg stall). It all depends on what you prefer. If you have a multi-use train ticket or you are a student in Kiel and have free travel on the train, you could go on separate days if you really wanted.
