Luneberg’s town hall is a bold presence, with a façade as white as slightly discolored salt and several tiers of statuary representing peace, justice, and all the other virtues of a good citizenry and government. The Gerichtslaube (Great Council Room) is an explosion of ornamentation, with intricate wooden bas-reliefs of town elders that master carver Albert von Soest executed between 1566 and 1584. In the tower are 41 Meissen porcelain bells that ring several times a day. The favorite relic, though, is the preserved leg bone of a wild boar displayed in the main trading hall. It’s said that a hunter shot the animal when he came upon it wallowing in a pool some 800 years ago. When he laid the pelt out to dry, he noticed salt crystals embedded in the hairs and bristles, and the discovery led him to more closely investigate the salt pools that would eventually put Lüneburg on the map.
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