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&emsp; themselves in the neighbouring nipa swamps, either preparing the nipa leaves for use in house construction, or distilling “nipa-wine” from the juice secured by tapping the blossom stalks. The language is Pampangan.  LÜBBEN, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Brandenburg, on the Spree, 47 m. S.S.E. of Berlin, on the railway to Görlitz. Pop. (1905) 7173. It is the chief town of the Spreewald, and has saw-mills and manufactories of hosiery, shoes and paper, and is famous for its gurken, or small pickling cucumbers. The poet Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676) was pastor here and is buried in the parish church.  LÜBECK, a state and city (Freie und Hansestadt Lübeck) of Germany. The principality of Lübeck, lying north of the state, is a constituent of the (q.v.). The state is situated on an arm of the Baltic between Holstein and Mecklenburg-Schwerin. It consists of the city of Lübeck, the town of Travemünde, 49 villages and the country districts, embraces 115 sq. m. of territory, and had a population in 1907 of 109,265, of which 93,978 were included in the city and its immediate suburbs. The state lies in the lowlands of the Baltic, is diversified by gently swelling hills, and watered by the Trave and its tributaries, the Wakenitz and the Stecknitz. The soil is fertile, and, with the exception of forest land (14% of the whole area), is mostly devoted to market gardening. Trade is centred in the city of Lübeck.

The constitution of the free state is republican, and, by the fundamental law of 1875, amended in 1905 and again in 1907, consists of two assemblies. (1) The Senate of fourteen members, of whom eight must belong to the learned professions, and six of these again must be jurists, while of the remaining six, five must be merchants. The Senate represents the sovereignty of the state and is presided over by the Oberbürgermeister, who during his two years’ term of office bears the title of “magnificence.” (2) The House of Burgesses (Bürgerschaft), of 120 members, elected by free suffrage and exercising its powers partly in its collective capacity and partly through a committee of thirty members. Purely commercial matters are dealt with by the chamber of commerce, composed of a praeses, eighteen members and a secretary. This body controls the exchange and appoints brokers, shipping agents and underwriters. The executive is in the hands of the Senate, but the House of Burgesses has the right of initiating legislation, including that relative to foreign treaties; the sanction of both chambers is required to the passing of any new law. Lübeck has a court of first instance (Amtsgericht) and a high court of justice (Landgericht); from the latter appeals lie to the Hanseatic court of appeal (Oberlandesgericht) at Hamburg, and from this again to the supreme court of the empire (Reichsgericht) in Leipzig. The people are nearly all Lutherans, and education is compulsory between the ages of six and fourteen.

The estimated revenue for the year 1908–1909 amounted to about £650,000, and the expenditure to a like sum. The public debt amounted, in 1908, to about £2,518,000. Lübeck has one vote in the federal council (Bundesrat) of the German Empire, and sends one representative to the imperial parliament (Reichstag).

History of the Constitution.—At the first rise of the town justice was administered to the inhabitants by the Vogt (advocatus) of the count of Holstein. Simultaneously with its incorporation by Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony, who presented the city with its own mint toll and market, there appears a magistracy of six, chosen probably by the Vogt from the Schöffen (scabini, probi homines). The members of the town council had to be freemen, born in lawful wedlock, in the enjoyment of estates in freehold and of unstained repute. Vassals or servants of any lord, and tradespeople, were excluded. A third of the number had annually to retire for a year, so that two-thirds formed the sitting council. By the middle of the 13th century there were two burgomasters (magistri burgensium). Meanwhile, the number of magistrates (consules) had increased, ranging from twenty to forty and upwards. The council appointed its own officers in the various branches of the administration. In the face of so much self-government the Vogt presently disappeared altogether. There were three classes of inhabitants, full freemen, half freemen and guests or foreigners. People of Slav origin being considered unfree, all intermarriage with them tainted the blood; hence nearly all surnames point to Saxon, especially Westphalian, and even Flemish descent. The magistracy was for two centuries almost exclusively in the hands of the merchant aristocracy, who formed the companies of traders or “nations,” such as the Bergen-fahrer, Novgorod-fahrer, Riga-fahrer and Stockholm-fahrer. From the beginning, however, tradesmen and handicraftsmen had settled in the town, all of them freemen of German parentage and with property and houses of their own. Though not eligible for the council, they shared to a certain extent in the self-government through the aldermen of each corporation or gild, of which some appear as early as the statutes of 1240. Naturally, there arose much jealousy between the gilds and the aristocratic companies, which exclusively ruled the republic. After an attempt to upset the merchants had been suppressed in 1384, the gilds succeeded, under more favourable circumstances, in 1408. The old patrician council left the city to appeal to the Hansa and to the imperial authorities, while a new council with democratic tendencies, elected chiefly from the gilds, took their place. In 1416, however, owing to the pressure brought to bear by the Hansa, by the emperor Sigismund and by Eric, king of Denmark, there was a restoration. The aristocratic government was again expelled under the dictatorship of Jürgen Wullenweber (c. 1492–1537), till the old order was re-established in 1535. In the constitution of 1669, under the pressure of a large public debt, the great companies yielded a specified share in the financial administration to the leading gilds of tradesmen. Nevertheless, the seven great companies continued to choose the magistrates by co-optation among themselves. Three of the four burgomasters and two of the senators, however, had henceforth to be graduates in law. The constitution, set aside only during the French occupation, has subsequently been slowly reformed. From 1813 the popular representatives had some share in the management of the finances. But the reform committee of 1814, whose object was to obtain an extension of the franchise, had made little progress, when the events of 1848 led to the establishment of a representative assembly of 120 members, elected by universal suffrage, which obtained a place beside the senatorial government. The republic has given up its own military contingent, its coinage and its postal dues to the German Empire; but it has preserved its municipal self-government and its own territory, the inhabitants of which enjoy equal political privileges with the citizens.

The City of Lübeck.—Lübeck, the capital of the free state, was formerly the head of the Hanseatic League. It is situated on a gentle ridge between the rivers Trave and Wakenitz, 10 m. S.W. of the mouth of the former in the bay of Lübeck, 40 m. by rail N.E. of Hamburg, at the junction of lines to Eutin, Büchen, Travemünde and Strassburg (in Mecklenburg-Schwerin) and consists of an inner town and three suburbs. The former ramparts between the Trave and the old town ditch have been converted into promenades. The city proper retains much of its ancient grandeur, despite the tendency to modernize streets and private houses. Foremost among its buildings must be mentioned its five chief churches, stately Gothic edifices in glazed brick, with lofty spires and replete with medieval works of art—pictures, stained glass and tombs. Of them, the Marienkirche, built in the 13th century, is one of the finest specimens of early Gothic in Germany. The cathedral, or Domkirche, founded in 1173, contains some curious sarcophagi and a magnificent altarpiece in one of the chapels, while the churches of St James (Jakobikirche), of St Peter (Petrikirche) and of St Aegidius (Aegidienkirche) are also remarkable. The Rathaus (town hall) of red and black glazed brick, dating from various epochs during the middle ages, is famous for its staircase, the vaulted wine cellar of the city council beneath and magnificent wood carving. There should also be mentioned the Schiffershaus; the medieval gates (Holstentor, Burgtor); and the Hospital of the Holy Ghost, remarkable for ancient frescoes and altars in rich wood