Cities & Culture

Buddenbrooks House Literary Museum – Thomas Mann Centre Lübeck

Visitors to the Buddenbrooks House Literary Museum at the heart of Lübeck's Old Town can find out all about the Mann family and the decline of the Buddenbrooks in a stunning architectural setting.

The ornately decorated front of the Buddenbrooks House says a lot about the wealthy confidence of its middle-class owners. But it's inside the building that history is really brought to life, as the permanent exhibition takes a closer look at the life and work of writers Thomas and Heinrich Mann. There's no shortage of reading material here – letters, first editions of books and commentaries abound. And the photos and historical documents are well worth a look too.

Visitors can head to the second floor for a look around the dining room adorned with religious figures and the landscape room. The setting cleverly combines reality with literary fiction, bringing Nobel Laureate Thomas Mann's novel "Buddenbrooks" to life. Visitors can experience the Buddenbrooks' home for themselves, diving into life with the mercantile family from Lübeck whilst clutching a reprint of the first edition of the novel they appear in. Opening times: April to December: Monday to Sunday 10 am–6 pm, January: Tuesday to Sunday 10 am–5 pm, February: Monday to Sunday 10 am–5 pm

Explore the surroundings