The Lübeck Lions and the Hotel Stadt Hamburg

Every city of note has at least one luxury hotel. A meeting place for the rich and beautiful. As the premier destination for upper-class travelers, these establishments often tell fascinating stories, frequently intertwined with the fate of the city itself.

Did you know that Lübeck once had a luxury hotel – much earlier than our modern-day metropolises? And have you ever wondered about the two Lübeck lions that flank the Holsten Gate today? Find out what these things have to do with each other in this article from our Lübeck ZWISCHENZEILEN .

Success through innovation

We're talking about the " Hotel Stadt Hamburg ." Located on Klingenberg hill, it was once the most prestigious address in town and, at its peak, the largest hotel in Lübeck. It combined luxury, style, and state-of-the-art amenities. Its fate is closely linked to the more recent development of our city. But why this name? Naming an inn after another city is not uncommon and can be explained by longing and wanderlust, or perhaps even the owner's homesickness. In Lübeck, the name had a very pragmatic reason: in 1444, the city of Hamburg bought the house on Klingenberg for 600 Lübeck pfennigs so that its emissaries would have suitable accommodation during the Hanseatic League meetings.

First mentioned in 1519 as the "Hamburger Herberge" (Hamburg Inn), the hotel boasted a wine cellar and quickly gained renown. Among its famous early guests were Wilhelm von Humboldt and the poet Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff , who raved in his diary about the cosmopolitan flair and excellent service for which the Hotel Stadt Hamburg was already known.

The real success story began in 1817 when Georg Theodor Pflüg took over the building and renamed it " Hotel Stadt Hamburg ." Against considerable resistance from Lübeck's business community, he had baths installed in his inn. This was an incredible innovation for the time, as bathing was not commonplace in the early 19th century. Inns offered travelers a jug of water for washing their hands and splashing their faces. Innovative hydrotherapies promised healing through water. However, for a hotel, baths were still an unusual luxury. Lübeck's barbers sued the owner for unfair competition, fearing for their customers.

Meeting place of the rich and beautiful

In addition to these modern amenities, the regular steamship connections to Copenhagen, Stockholm, and St. Petersburg were a key factor in the hotel's success. Lübeck had always been a bridge between Northern and Central Europe. During the Hanseatic League era, this was a crucial locational advantage, and the burgeoning tourism industry benefited from it. Wealthy travelers from Northern Europe arrived on the steamships. For the Russian nobility, Travemünde was the gateway to the continent and a stopover on their way to Switzerland or France. The guest list of the "Hotel Stadt Hamburg" reads like a who's who of the European upper class of the time.

Among the most famous guests of the Hotel Stadt Hamburg were the composers Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner, as well as the pianist Clara Schumann – then still known as Wieck. The influential entrepreneur Werner von Siemens celebrated here with his family. Crown Prince Frederick III and his wife, Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia, arrived by special train from Hamburg. Prince Napoleon III docked his yacht, the Jérôme Napoleon, in Hamburg harbor and came to the Hotel Stadt Hamburg for breakfast. The author Stefan Zweig spent a night here with his future wife, Friederike von Winternitz .

The Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote in his diary:

“Oh God, what happiness! It feels so good to be sitting in a foreign city, in a beautiful hotel, and to have five whole days of peace and quiet.”

James Edward Marston described the "Hotel Stadt Hamburg" as "one of the best in northern Germany" as early as 1833. The influential Baedeker travel guide – the TripAdvisor of the 19th century – listed the hotel from 1864 onwards. Business flourished, and the hotel was steadily enlarged through acquisitions and additions. The magnificent façade facing Klingenberg was enhanced by a columned balcony. A wide, open staircase led up to the foyer.

The advertisements of the time promised comfortable single and double rooms with running hot and cold water, baths, and showers. Such a hotel was never merely a place to sleep, but always also a meeting place for the upper crust. The "Hotel Stadt Hamburg" offered an elegant wine restaurant, a bar (at times even advertised as an "American Bar"), and a hotel garden. Dances were held regularly on weekends. Illustrious groups gathered in the hotel's festive rooms – the setting for countless events, from lavish wedding balls to occasions of national importance, such as the royal luncheon during the Kaiser's maneuvers in 1904. There was a stable for horses, a lockable carriage house for the first automobiles, an elevator, a telephone, and a landline.

How the lions came to Lübeck…

When will the Lübeck lions finally take center stage? Our two now-famous guardians of the Holsten Gate are attributed to the sculptor Christian Daniel Rauch . They were cast in 1822/23 at the Royal Prussian Iron Foundry in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia. However, they are not unique pieces. The sleeping lion was created for the tomb of General von Scharnhorst, who died in 1813. You can still see it today in Berlin's Invalidenfriedhof cemetery. The awake lion still dominates the garden of Villa Caro in Gliwicze, Poland.

Our two Lübeck lions were ordered by the Lübeck consul Johann Daniel Jacobj from the catalog of the Royal Prussian Iron Foundry. Jacobj was the head of a Lübeck merchant family, and the lions were a gift for his wife. Since 1840, they stood guard in front of his house at Große Petersgrube 19. ( You can read more about this fascinating street in Lübeck's Old Town here

After several decades, road and sewer construction changed the appearance of Petersgrube. The lions had to be moved and were sold to Carl Töpfers, who had by then become the owner and director of the "Hotel Stadt Hamburg." Thus, they found a new, fitting home and entered Lübeck's city history. From 1873 onward, they flanked the grand staircase of the elegant hotel – one sleeping, the other with a watchful gaze over what was then the Klingenberg hill.

The "Hotel Stadt Hamburg" has also been immortalized in literature. When Thomas Mann traveled from Switzerland to Aalsgaard, Denmark, in 1899, he stayed overnight at the Hotel Stadt Hamburg during a stopover in his hometown. This trip inspired his novella "Tonio Kröger," in which he himself recommends the famous hotel.

"Go to the City of Hamburg," it says. "The City of Hamburg is well-run. It costs a bit, yes, I admit, but you get what you pay for. Good food, good wines. I recommend the City of Hamburg."

Following the recommendation, the protagonist enters the "Hotel Stadt Hamburg" and while he hesitates in front of the main entrance, the narrator explains: "There was the hotel, and there were the two black lions lying in front of it, which he had been afraid of as a child."

Every end is also a new beginning.

The "Hotel Stadt Hamburg" was a success story. Its origins stretched back to the golden age of the Hanseatic League. Its end, like so much else, came on the night before Palm Sunday in 1942. The firestorm of the air raid changed the city forever. The hotel's much-praised central location became its downfall – it was razed to the ground. On Palm Sunday morning, only the porch protruded from the rubble: the balcony, supported by columns with Corinthian capitals, and – as if by a miracle – the two lions.

During the reconstruction, they disappeared from public view for several years, falling into the care of Lübeck's building authority. It wasn't until 1957 that the two cast-iron lions found their current location. There, like two sentinels, they flank the Holsten Gate, welcoming all travelers arriving in our city by train or long-distance bus. Their original owner, Consul Johann Daniel Jakobj, would likely be proud of the representative function of his lions. During his lifetime, he was deeply committed to the interests of our city. Connecting Lübeck to the newly emerging railway network of the 19th century was one of his pet projects.

The story of the "Hotel Stadt Hamburg" ended on that fateful night of bombing in 1942. Our city, on the other hand, rose from its ruins like the phoenix. Perhaps it is more beautiful today than it has ever been. We can almost see the survival of our two lions as a metaphor. Their promotion from guard post at the Hotel Stadt Hamburg to ambassadors of our city is a significant career boost. Every morning I walk past them. What fascinating historical figures they have already allowed to pass! To whom have they granted access to our city? From commuters in rush hour, to children playing and riding on their backs, to visiting dignitaries.

Try to read it in their unfathomable gaze. Whisper in their ear who you'd like to meet for a chat in Lübeck. After everything they've been through, I find it hard not to see our lions as lucky charms.

This article is based on a previously unpublished book by Guido Weinberger , available only in digital form. Most of the illustrations shown here are taken from it. It contains many more historical details and fascinating anecdotes. If you are interested in the history of the "Hotel Stadt Hamburg" and would like to learn more, please contact Guido Weinberger directly: gweinbergerde@yahoo.de .

The Lübeck Lions