L�neburg is one of the few towns in North Germany whose historic centre was not destroyed during the Second World War. Nevertheless the general neglect of its buildings until the 1960s and the damage in the area of subsidence has led to gaps in the historic architecture of the town. In addition the demolition of ramshackle buildings in the 1950s and 1960s and the construction of shops with a contemporary design broke up the historic appearance of many rows of houses. Since the beginning of the 1970s, however, L�neburg has been carefully and lovingly restored. The restoration process revealed hitherto hidden ceiling frescos, medieval pottery workshops and many historic soakaways (Sickergruben) from which a considerably better picture of life in the Middle Ages resulted.
In the L�neburg district of Kaltenmoor is St. Stephen's (St. Stephanus), the oldest ecumenical building in the town, with Protestant and Catholic churches under one roof. Other buildings worthy of particular mention are the three remaining town churches: St. John (St. Johannis am Sande, completed 1370), St. Michael (Michaeliskirche), where Johann Sebastian Bach was a choirboy from 1700 to 1702, and the relatively 'modern' St. Nicholas (Nikolaikirche), which was built in 1407. The Church of St. Lambertus (Lambertikirche) had to be demolished in 1850 due to its dilapidated state; it stood in the subsidence area.
Equally interesting are the Glockenhaus ("Bell House", an old armoury) on the Glockenhof, the Rathsapotheke (town chemist's), dating to 1598, in Gro�e B�ckerstra�e and the historic town hall or Rathaus with its famous town council meeting room, the Gerichtslaube. The Luna Fountain (Lunabrunnen) in front of the town hall is graced by a bronze statue of the moon goddess with bow and arrow; the original dating to 1532 was stolen in 1970 and melted down; the present statue is a replica dating to 1972. In the area of the old port can still be seen the baroque facade of the "Old
