Lübeck

(loo'baik,) a city and Hanse-town of Germany, C. of a territory of same name, on the Trave, at the mouth of the Gulf of Lübeck, in the Baltic, 36 m. N.E. of Hamburg. This is one of the most commercial places in N. Germany, though not so much so as formerly, when, in1421, it ranked as the chief city of the Hanseatic League. Its present trade is principally carried on with the N. and W. of Europe. L., after belonging to Saxony (1158) and to Denmark (1201), became a free city in1226. In 1806 it was sacked by the French, and held by them bet. the years 1810-13. The TER. OF LUBECK comprises an area of 107 sq. m., embracing a sweep of country immediately surrounding the city. Pop. of ter., 48,538; of the city, 36,998. [s. 559]