City (population 2002 est.: 213,486), northern Germany.
Founded on the site of a Slavic settlement in 1143, it developed as a trading post. It became a free city in 1226 and the seat of the Hanseatic League in 1358. It declined after the 16th century, and its trade was ruined during the Napoleonic Wars . It revived after the Elbe-Lübeck canal was built in 1900. Its status as a self-governing entity ended in 1937, when the Nazis made it part of the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein . It is one of Germany's largest Baltic ports. Historic sites include a 12th-century cathedral and several Gothic churches.