Glückstadt: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

Glückstadt is characterized by a polygonal radial city plan, considered to have been designed according to Italian Renaissance ideals; the former course of the fortifications is still recognizable. Glückstadt’s Stadtkirche is the oldest building in the city and was built between 1618 and 1623. At the top of its tower, spheres, Fortuna and Christian IV’s crowned C4 monogram are combined. From Easter until the Harvest Thanksgiving Festival, the church is regularly open; in winter, limited visits are possible by appointment.

Culture

The Detlefsen Museum presents the cultural history of the Kremper and Kollmar Elbe Marshes as well as Glückstadt’s development as a royal residence city, a city of tolerance, a fortress and the former capital of Holstein. Its collections illustrate crafts, shipping, the military, and urban and rural life along the Elbe through prints, paintings, textiles and cultural-historical objects. The exhibitions are complemented by lectures, concerts, theater performances, readings and a traditional museum festival.

The Palais für aktuelle Kunst presents international contemporary art, with a focus on painting and photography, in a restored aristocratic palace dating from the 17th century. In general, five exhibitions are held there each year, accompanied by guided tours, artist talks or special programs for school students.

Am Hafen Street is protected as an architectural ensemble. It includes the Palais Quasi non possidentes, the Wiebeke-Kruse Tower, the royal bridge house and a historic salt storehouse from the 19th century. The Marktfleth was originally created as an inland harbor for trade and transshipment and was restored in 1987 after having been filled in. A preserved section of the old fortress dike and the former fortress waterways are protected as monuments.

The Jewish cemetery in Glückstadt is the only cemetery in Schleswig-Holstein where Sephardic-Portuguese Jews were buried. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in the state and is a cultural monument of 17th- and 18th-century Jewish funerary art.

Water

Fortunabad is a summer swimming facility with a large water slide. Its amenities also include a whitewater channel, bubble loungers, massage jets and a bistro, as well as swimming, diving, leisure and paddling pools.

The inland harbor has berths with electricity and water supply. The outer harbor is generally independent of the tide and offers yacht berths for vessels up to 13 meters long. Water-related leisure activities include walks along the Elbe dike, sailing trips with the Rigmor and cycling along the Elbe. The Glücks-Routen network comprises ten signposted themed cycling routes.

The Original Glückstadt Matjes is described as a culinary specialty: it supposedly matures naturally in barrels in Glückstadt and is then filleted by hand.

Nature

The flat-bottomed Tidenkieker regularly operates trips on the Elbe from Glückstadt. The focus is on birdwatching, passing landscapes and ships, and experiencing the water. Depending on the weather and tide, the routes lead upstream to Schwarztonnensand or downstream toward Freiburg and Brammer Bank.

Schwarztonnensand has been a designated nature reserve since 1985 and serves as a habitat and resting area for many waterbird species. Families of seals can often be observed at Brammer Bank.

Orientation

The Glückstadt–Wischhafen Elbe ferry operates year-round and takes about 25 minutes to cross. For motorists, it is the only Elbe crossing north of Hamburg. The Glückstadt Tourist Information Office provides information and maps for the region, accommodation advice and suggestions for cycling routes.

More local pages: Engelbrechtsche Wildnis, Hohenaspe, Brokdorf, Kollmar, Horst-Herzhorn, Borsfleth, Itzehoe, Hodorf.

Anyone wishing to rent a holiday apartment in Glückstadt can continue searching for accommodation afterward.

To the higher-level travel overview: Steinburg.