Travel Guide Lauenburg

One can continue an exploration south of Lübeck to the small river port of Lauenburg, located on the Elbe. It had an important historical role as the last city controlling the course of the Elbe before Hamburg. The upper town is modern and uninviting, but the lower town is a remarkable Renaissance town with colorful brick half-timbered houses. It is located directly on the Elbe. The upper town can be reached by walking down the staircase, which offers a beautiful panorama. The few streets of the tiny old town (spread along the Elbstraße) and its church are incredibly well preserved. One can admire house after another, the colorful ornaments and golden inscriptions of these bourgeois residences competing of creativity. The "bobo" stores, art or design, multiply there; the places are in the process of being entirely reinvested, after decades of neglect. Through small passages, you can access the river and have a magnificent view. If you are driving, cross the bridge to the other side (in the small town of Hohnstorf/Elbe) and admire the old town from afar, which bears witness to what must have been a German river port in the Renaissance.