Visited The Home Of Marzipan
6th September 2023 - New Experience Number 32.
The Other Half has a big soft spot for the almondy treat. For years he’s mentioned he’d like to go to Lübeck, (which is a ridiculously gorgeous place in itself), known as the home of marzipan thanks to the Niederegger family.
Finally we were able to include a sweet stop off on our roadtrip!
Visiting Lübeck
Situated in Northern Germany, Lübeck has a gorgeous Old Town. Imposing towers piercing the skyline; beautiful examples of grand medieval architecture; bold brick churches keeping its historic roots very much alive, and narrow cobbled alleyways calling out for inquisitive wanderers to follow.
Exploring the pretty riverside city, also known as the city of seven spires, was an added bonus experience to the main reason for our visit.
We were here to indulge the Other Half and his fondness for fondant. Ok, I know fondant isn’t exactly the same as marzipan, but the alliteration worked better and it’s similar!
The Home Of Marzipan
There’s marzipan, and then there’s the best marzipan in the world, and that comes from Lübeck. It’s so well regarded that it’s covered under European Union Law as a Protected Geographical Indication. ’Lübeck Marzipan’ is only allowed to be used if the marzipan is produced within the area of Lübeck! So if that’s on the label, you know you’re having some seriously high quality goods.
It’s likely you’ll have seen posh boxes with prettily individually wrapped pieces of marzipan, often with the distinctive red and gold 3 pitched roofs logo on the shelves, especially at Christmas. This is Niederegger. Considered amongst many to be the finest marzipan on the planet, they use 100% almond paste and no added sugar.
The Other Half has been consuming their goods for years, and this felt like a bit of a pilgrimage to visit the mother-shop.
Niederegger In Lübeck - The Home Of Marzipan
Within the city walls and opposite the town hall, is a grand building decorated in the brand colours of red white and gold. We knew we had arrived!
We started at the museum on the top floor. This meant passing all the tempting treats in the shop, and walking through mouth watering aromas of the cafe!
The History Of Marzipan
Although the origins of marzipan are not entirely certain, with some indications that it may have first been created in China, Lübeck became a key hub of production thanks to its proximity to the coast and trading routes.
Originally, marzipan was only found in chemists as it was considered to alleviate many ailments. Sounds good to me! Eventually it found its way to become a piece of confectionary rather than a cure, although it was initially just Kings and Queens who had the pleasure of enjoying the sweet treat.
As time went on, many marzipan shops opened in Lübeck making the confectionery more easily accessible to the masses. At one time there were hundreds of marzipan outlets in the city, but Niederegger, having been established in 1806, has stood the test of time, with its classic branding, high quality ingredients and 100% marzipan output.
It’s been a favourite of Royalty, Emperors, Tzars and celebrities. It’s shipped around the world and often brings out beautiful specially packaged Christmas offerings. And, it’s pretty darn good.
Marzipan As An Art Form
Along side delicate old recipes, old pieces of equipment, videos and facts from the timeline, the museum had an impressive display of life size figures, many bigger than me, all made from marzipan.
It’s an incredible substance that is not only delicious but very good for sculpting, although you wouldn’t know that from my attempt at making marzipan fruits a few years ago!
A professional marzipan sculptor was demonstrating how they make some of the intricate designs, her fingers nimbly cutting and pressing the nutty paste into intricate creations. On display were some amazing models as the marzipan had been moulded into different vegetables, a hiking scene, and more!
Lunch At The Home Of Marzipan
Lunch in the cafe reminded us a lot of Betty’s tea rooms in York. From the classic old school decor, to the traditional staff uniforms, the silverware, the attention to detail and the cake counter. Oh the cake counter! It was vast!
We had a sandwich and a quiche, neither of which contained marzipan, that would have been a bit weird, although maybe there is some sort of chutney which could be made with marzipan? The Other Half had a marzipan hot chocolate which was nice but insanely sweet, you wouldn’t want a second cup!
After much deliberation, we picked some cakes from the counter for our desserts. Both of these contained a layer of the finest marzipan, and it really was delicious. Not too firm, not too soft, it was a perfect bite of the almond sweet taste and not overly sugary. Delicious!
Perhaps not the wisest decision to order as a drink with a slice of cake, I tried the marzipan cocktail. A spritzy concoction of sparking wine, cava, a scoop of sorbet and a splash of marzipan liquor. It was lovely, it felt decadent, and wow, it was sweet!
The Other Half had a beer. There’s no marzipan beer yet that I know of. Maybe that’s something to look into!
The Biggest Selection Of Marzipan I've Ever Seen!
After our indulgent and leisurely lunch, we had a meander around the shop on the ground floor which sold more marzipan related items than I could ever have imagined!
From bars in a plethora of different flavours and combinations, to decorative gift boxes in all shapes and sizes, teas and coffees with various marzipan flavourings, and individual pieces of marzipan shaped and decorated to look like fruits, vegetables, meat – (yes, meat), and a whole host of other items.
We picked up a box of marzipan redbush tea bags (which we later discovered were teeth clinchingly sweet), and a fridge magnet. The only fridge magnet we picked up on our 2 month road trip!
Definitely Worth Visiting The Home Of Marzipan
Niederegger was a great experience. The pride in their products and heritage came across in everything they do. It’s a perfect visit for anyone who appreciates marzipan, although we had to seek out something savoury afterwards so that we didn’t have too big a sugar crash!
The location in the old town of Lübeck definitely makes it worthy of a visit too as it is such a pretty city.
Want To Try It Yourself?
- To visit the Niederegger shop, cafe and museum, (in my opinion, the original home of marzipan!) you’ll need to visit the Old Town in Lübeck.
- There are other Niederegger cafes and outlets that may be nearer to where you are. Take a look at the website to find out more.
- If you’re not visiting Germany any time soon, you can still have a great marzipan experience! You can take a 360 degree tour of the building which includes all of the different floors. Of course you won’t get the incredible aromas and tastes, but you’d get a sense of the grandeur of it.
- See if you can pick up some Niederegger marzipan from a local gift shop near you to try the fine confectionary
Cost Of Experience
Entry to the museum is free.
- The shop is free to browse.
Prices in the cafe were not extortionate. A piece of cake was from 3 Euro upwards, which was around £2.60
Recommendations
- If you have a nut allergy, this may not be the best place to visit in person
- The cafe is open every day except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Monday – Friday 9am-7pm, Saturday 9am – 6pm, and Sunday’s 10am – 6pm so you could go for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
- There is a coffee shop on the ground floor if you’d rather have a slightly less formal sample of their fine cake selection.
- The ice cream kiosk is good if you’re looking for something to sample on the go.
- The shop is amazing! Prepare for some incredible purchases!
- Don’t forget your camera – hopefully you can get some better pictures than mine! I didn’t take seem to take very good ones here!