Schönberg - Lübeck

Today we are hiking from Schönberg to Lübeck, that is from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to Schleswig-Holstein, crossing an inner-German border between two federal states, an open border. It was not always like this, because after the Second World War this border developed into a strictly controlled trench (or even walls) between East and West, here as the border between the GDR (German Democratic Republic) and the FRG (Federal Republic of Germany). This situation lasted until the peaceful "Wende" 1989/1990, which resulted in the opening of the borders and the reunification of Germany. Another consequence is the revitalization of the "Via Baltica", which has already been an important trade and also a pilgrimage route since early times.

Our path today leads us through the Schönbergland up to exactly this border, and shortly afterwards we will once again have to deal with a lot of water, first the Wakenitz, and then already in Lübeck also with the Trave. These waters have almost all been converted into harbor facilities in the Lübeck area, a logical consequence of the predestined location at the mouth of the Trave, but also a logical consequence for a Hanseatic city. Lübeck was not simply "also a" Hanseatic city, but was respectfully called "Queen of the Hanse" during the Hanseatic period. It is also almost mandatory that the old town of Lübeck belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage.

We enter this old town from the north through the magnificent Burgtor and end this stage at the St. Jacobi Church.

Note(s)

The pilgrimage route along the southern shore of the Baltic Sea has various names, in Germany for example also "Baltic-Westphalian Way of St. James". From Poland eastwards, the designation "Pomeranian Way of St. James" is common. In this documentation we remain with the cross-border name "Via Baltica", partly because of the shortness of the name, and also because pilgrims to Rome or even to Jerusalem can also use it.

See also

"Pilgrimage on the Via Baltica": www.via-baltica-verlag.de