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Shortly before 1639 the building, the Admiralität, which means admiralty was built as "Ihrer königlichen Majestäts haus" (the building of their royal majesty's). This building had many owners. Between 1649 and 1672 they housed the pharmacy in the downstairs rooms and in the attic was stored the "Provantkorn" (a specific type of grain). In 1664, the house was a dilapidated ruin, but the king gave the command to renovate it, so that in 1695 a merchant and shipowner bought the rights to the building with the condition of also housing the sails, anchors, and ropes, for the royal ships.
In 1699, the owner of the Glückstadter fleetequipage bought the building and built many new additions. In 1893 it was bought by the the Glückstadter herring fish company and they in turn made even more additions. The bancrupcy of this company in 1876 was the end of a 343 years in which this building was used only to house sea faring industry. In 1976, the Asmus KG Yacht club was the owner of the building and finally in 1989 the city bought the building in order to renovate and preserve on a large scale, as well as to create many new free hold flats (condominiums).
The city church found in the Market Place is one of the most significant buildings in Glückstadt. After the Reformation it was the first new evangelic church built in Schleswig-Hostein. From 1618-1621 the first nave was built and in 1623 the tower was finished. With a destructive storm in 1648 the tower and part of the nave were destroyed. In 1650-1651, the building was once again finished and still remains today. The second large nave was built and a baroque pinacle for the tower . On the left side of the tower you can find the "Admirals anker" (The Admirals anchor), which was given by the King after the victory of one of the battles on the Elbe with Hamburg. The weathervane on the top of the tower is conspicuous because you can see a heathen god and it is probably the only Christian place where you will ever find something like that. The inside of the church is interesting because of the combination of baroque and gothic styles. In 1962, the church was renovated and repaired. The brass chandelier, in the main nave, has a hole in the sphere that you can find if you look closely. It was created during the siege of Sweden, Russia, and Prussia by a bomb explosion in the church.
The old Fleth (pronounced Fleet) was an important water branch of water which went through the heart of the town, and was used as a connection between the Marschere, the Rhine and the Black Sea, but was filled in, in the 80's. It was again later redug and constructed after old plans. Since that it has been a decoration in the center of Glückstadt. In the past it was used as a place to dispose of dirty water and also to supply the fortress trench with enough water. In those days the Fleth was part of brilliant water architecture with other examples including trenches and rivers. This system, which was important for the protection of the fortress and for the draining of the marshes, decayed after the ruin of the fortress. Some parts of it still work today, and the remaining majority that was the fortress trench is still connected.
The Wasmer Palais was built during 1710 and 1720, and gets it's name from it's builder, Jacob Johann von Wasmer. The the two story building is in the shape of a horseshoe, with an entrance ornamented by the Wasmers coat of arms, and a sandstone Portae. The fireside room on the first floor is in soft yellows, whites, greys, blacks and rose colors, which Andrea Maiui, created with a stucco effect. The other rooms are similarly pompous but gorgeous. The original furnishings no longer remain, as they now are owned by different people all over the world. It seems that the house has a good ghost, a negro, who has his mural on the wall portraying him looking through an opening door, but not leaving. Some of the history behind this house in very interesting, for example: In 1752, the king bought the house and settled the government offices in six rooms of the house and used the remaining rooms for his court and himself. When in 1807 the English fired on Copenhagen, and the governing offices there couldn't process a declaration of war, the offices in Glückstadt declared war as the second governing office. This led to the end of Glückstadt as a fortress.
The Wiebke Kruse Tower belongs to the buildings that King Christian IV built for his mistress Wiebke Kruse. Wiebke who was by his side for the last eighteen years of his life was the daughter of a free Molsteineischen farmer. She took care of the education of the king's children and was also the mother of his two illegitimate children. Especially after the banishment of the King's wife, she represented a large part of his life. Even though the main building burnt down in the 19th century, the tower has survived. It also survived all the sieges, all the storms, and the all floods since that time, leaving it standing in it's original baroque beauty at the end of the "Hafenzeile" (The chanel leading to the harbor). On top of the tower stands a weather vane with a king riding between a globe and a crown.
The first jail was created in 1739, and was only the third in Schleswig-Holstein. It was used as an educational and work house. The jail stands next to the harbor in the Rethövel quarter. The building is divided into two different sections. The first is two-story and the second is a single story building. Both sections have architecture that is native to Germany, called Walm and Mannsarddächer, but today unfortunately it's beauty is not seen. The building finances were provided by private sponsors and gifts. In the early days, the inmates worked, making special products found only in this area, which the jail found no problem selling. Through the years the jail has had many new additions added, due to overcrowding. In 1833, there were a total of 730 prisoners in the Glückstadt jail, due to the closing of the jails in Altona (1840), Rendburg (1850), and Flensburg (1860). In 1875, the new jail in Rendsburg was completed and from that time on all the male prisoners were transported there and the female prisoners were transported to Nieder-Saxon. The opening of the new jail began to leave Glückstadt's jail more and more empty, until in 1927 it was closed.
