Hamburg

When we were finished in Lübeck, we went to Hamburg. When we arrived we looked up our hostel, and then we were off to meet Thorsten Stoye - bagpipe maker extraordinary. That's where I collected the King of Noise. We had tea and talked about bagpipes for a while, and then we went back to Hamburg to meet our dear friends of Elvelüut Hamborch. They booked a table at the Gröninger Privatbrauerei and I can dearly recommend food, drink, company and service. We ate about five kilos of meat, had a good few beers and nearly fell asleep.

Next day it was time for one of our main goals - the

Hamburger Kunsthalle
Web: http://www.hamburger-kunsthalle.de/
Rating: 5/5

At the Hamburger Kunsthalle you can see two magnificent altarpieces by Meister Bertram van Minden, who died about 1415 or so. He was a master of his trade and very well known; his will has even survived to our days. He worked at different places in middle- and northern Germany. His style is to a great extent naturalistic and he spares few details. His works are a goldmine for any late 14th century reenactor. There were also some other interesting pieces but I was tremendously impressed by Meister Bertram's sculptures and painting. We had no problems taking photos there, even with a tripod.




























Next stop was
Hamburg Museum
Web: http://www.hamburgmuseum.de/index2.html
Rating: 2/5

This museum is a good one in general, but the medieval section is way too small and poorly organized. Almost no datings exist, which means that you can never be certain if a certain artefact is interesting for you. I was a bit impressed by pretty cool weapons, and I liked the fact that we got to take photos - although without tripod - but otherwise I was disappointed.

Blogger is in deep trouble

I am very close to leave Blogger for something else. I really, really hate working with pics here. There is a good name for it in Swedish: Användarfientligt.

Lübeck churches

And now - time for the Lübeck churches.

We started with Marienkirche - a huge brick church.

Marienkirche
Web:
Rating: 3/5

This church is awesome in its own respect. As a building it is magnificent, and we were breathtaken. There is absolutely no doubt about the might and importance of the Hansa cities - most Swedish churches are tiny in comparison. When it comes to late 14th century art, the church has little to offer however. The only thing we stumbled across was a tucked away effigy of Bruno von Warendorp. He died in 1369 after a battle in Helsingborg in south Sweden.































Lübeck Dom
Web:
Rating: 3/5

The Lübeck cathedral is packed with cool art. However this was a first premonition of what the trip was going to be like: we found oh so pretty altar pieces dated to the 1420's - too late for us but splendid in detail and technique. The church is worth a closer look just because it's so nice.
































There were loads of other churches. We visited a few, but generally they were of little interest for the late 14th century nerd. It also seemed one of our goals for the trip, Katharinenkirche, was closed. Too bad, but it gives us a reason to come back again.

May I present - The Lübeck Museums!

First of all, a bit of general info.

The trip lasted three whole days, and there is loads of stuff to mention about it, but I'll just mention the best stuff. Plus, I'll write a short review about each of the places we visited. And there will be pics!

We travelled like this:

Rostock > Lübeck > Hamburg > Wismar > Bad Doberan > Greifswald > Stralsund > Rostock. We travelled a bit further than necessary - we "missed out" Bad Doberan and Wismar on our way to Hamburg and went more or less the same way back - all because it was too early in the morning for anything to be open. We used that time to travel instead, and arrived in Lübeck in good time to have breakfast and to check out where the museums were situated.

And now - get ready for museums (close your mouths, you nerds!)!


Lübeck
Lübeck has, as far as I know, three museums of interest for the medieval reenactor, plus loads of churches, but let's begin with the museums.

Burgkloster Museum
Web: http://tinyurl.com/382dz8c
Rating: 5/5

This museum is one of the best museums I have ever been to. And I have been to many, believe me... I believe there is only one museum I visited that can match it. The collections were very nicely displayed, there were loads and loads of artifacts, well preserved and interesting. The pottery nerd will have his fill - they have an entire floor just packed with pottery of different types in near mint condition. All of us were stunned if not to say over-excited, and we left the museum exhausted but happy. The museum is situated in an old monastery with some wall paitings and sculptures, which are also very nice indeed. This is a must see!

























Holstentor Museum
Web: http://tinyurl.com/39doukt
Rating: 3/5

The Holstentor Museum is cool in its own respect, as it is in fact a gate house of the old city wall. The building is intriguing really. But then it's not so cool anymore, at least not if you are into the latter part of the 14th century. The only thing that saves the museum from a 2/5 rating is the gambeson on display. It's from the 1430-ies if I am not mistaken, but it can nevertheless teach us a lot about gambeson construction.





























Kunsthalle St Annen
Web: http://tinyurl.com/3767j5h
Rating: 4/5

This museum of art contains smashing examples of naturalistic, beautiful and very interesting art. I believe I have never seen a cooler altar piece, plus there is some very well preserved chests and some decent art in general. But the altarpiece is some work of art. The only problem is that it is dated to 1405, which puts it out of reach for us... The museum as a whole is very well worth a visit.