Wismar

Wismar originated as a settlement of the Polab Slavs , probably with the name of Vishemir . In the first half of the XIII century, received the rights of the city. In 1259, an alliance was concluded with Rostock and Lübeck , from which the Hansa grew, to guard against sea robbers. In the Middle Ages, Wismar specialized in the trade of herring and beer, in addition, cloth was made here. Issues concerning the Hanseatic League were decided at the general meetings of the inhabitants.

Wismar still has relics of the former free cities, such as the right to have its own flag. From 1257 to 1358 the city served as the residence of the princes of Mecklenburg . The black death of 1376 decimated it a significant part of the population. Like other cities of the Hansa, Wismar began to lose its former importance after the discovery of America, when the trade routes shifted to the Atlantic.

Economic decline was completed by the Thirty Years War . According to the Westphalian Peace of 1648, Wismar became part of Swedish Pomerania and became the largest fortress of the Swedes on the southern coast of the Baltic.

In 1803, Sweden laid the city to the Dukes of Mecklenburg for 1,558,000 Reichstelers, retaining the right to return it after 100 years. Although later Wismar de facto became part of the German Empire , the Swedish authorities did not recognize the loss of rights to it until 1903.

The city in which the factories of the Dornier aviation company were located was badly damaged by the Allied bombing of World War II . In the years of the GDR, Wismar was regarded as the second most important (after Rostock ) sea port of the state. In particular, potash fertilizers were transported through its port.

The historic centers of Wismar and neighboring Stralsund in 2002 were placed under the protection of UNESCO as a world cultural heritage .

From July 1, 2011 the city is part of the North-West Mecklenburg district . Prior to that, he had the status of a city of land subordination.

The heart of Wismar is the Market Square. Among the later buildings stands out the brick “Old Swede” of 1380. This medieval house received its name only in 1878, when a hotel with this name was opened in it.

In the middle of the square in 1602 a 12-sided pavilion in the style of the Dutch Renaissance was built according to the drawings of Philip Brandin. The pavilion, called Wasserkunst, until 1897 served as a dispenser, from which 220 residential and 16 public buildings were supplied with water.

The Wismar Church of the Virgin Mary before the war was one of the largest North German brick gothic churches. Its architect, Johann Groth , took the three-nave basilica of the church of Mary in Lübeck as a model. In April 1945, during the bombing, the main building was badly damaged. The ruins were finally blown up in 1960. Only a tall tower (81 m) remained on the church, on which 9 bells of the 16th — 17th centuries hang. Here in 1647 a clock with a dial of 5 × 5 m was installed, which is performed four times a day by one of 20 chorals.

The surviving church of St. Nicholas was built in 1381-1487. modeled on the church of Mary as a three-nave basilica . The middle nave has a height of 37 m, which makes it the fourth highest in medieval Germany.

The official twin cities are ^[3] :

•   Kemi (since 1959)
•   Kale (since 1971, friendship agreement signed in 1966)
•   Squid (since 2002)
•   Lubeck (since 1987)
•   Aalborg (since 1963)

Partnerships are also maintained with Halden from Norway .

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  Nordic Yards Wismar Shipyard

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  "Old Swede"

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  Pavilion for water distribution

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  Church of the Virgin Mary

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  Interior Nikolaykirche

• Baedecker. Deutschland. Verlag Karl Baedeker, 2002. ISBN 3-8297-1004-6
• Bernd Wurlitzer - Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. 5 aktualisierte Auflage.DuMont Reiseverlag, Köln.2004. ISBN 3-7701-3849-X •
• Weltgeschichte-Daten Fakten Bilder-Georg Westermann Verlag; Braunschweig 1987- ISBN 3-07-509036-0

• Official page
• Sights of Germany: Wismar