Excursion to the Elbe River – Lauenburg

Some time ago we made an excursion to a little town at the Elbe River called Lauenburg. This little town was founded 800 years ago and has about 12.000 inhabitants. I have found a lot of very old houses, doors, and old guild symbol, a tombstone from the time of the knights and other details there, which you can see below. The eldest house I found was built in 1513, just about the time when America was discovered! In former times the wooden gables of the houses were carved and decorated with beautiful colors. Many houses were timber-framed with old oak wood. The very old houses are all a bit crooked and askew. If you look at the old gables you can see the date when the house was built, the names of the owners and a bible-quote. The house that was built 1513 has the following quote: Thus God has loved the world that he gave his only son… It was written in a very old German, that we can hardly understand nowadays. Of course I was excited to find a lot of old doors, too and a trompe l’oeil painting of a woman that looks out of a window.