page_title: Stralsund
section_title: Main sights
hierarchical_section_title: Stralsund / Culture and sights / Main sights
caption_attribution_description: Detail am Westportal der de:St.-Nikolai-Kirche (Stralsund).
context_page_description: Stralsund, Swedish: Strålsund is a Hanseatic city in the Pomeranian part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located at the southern coast of the Strelasund, a sound of the Baltic Sea separating the island of Rügen from the mainland.
  The Strelasund Crossing with its two bridges and several ferry services connects Stralsund with Rügen. The Western Pomeranian city has been the capital of the Vorpommern-Rügen district since the 2011 district reforms. It is the fourth-largest city of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and, together with Greifswald, Stralsund forms an Oberzentrum, one of four high-level urban centers of the region.
  Stralsund was granted city rights in 1234 and was one of the most prospering members of the medieval Hanseatic League. In 1628, during the Thirty Years' War, the city came under Swedish rule and remained so until the upheavals of the Napoleonic Wars. From 1815 to 1945, Stralsund was part of Prussia. Since 2002, Stralsund's old town with its rich heritage is honored as a UNESCO World Heritage, along with Wismar in Mecklenburg.
context_section_description: The historic Stralsund old town island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It features many valuable remnants of the Hanseatic time, Brick Gothic, renaissance, baroque, historicist and Jugendstil buildings.
  The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square (Alter Markt), with the Gothic Town Hall (13th century). Behind the town hall soars the imposing Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas' Church), built in 1270–1360. The square is surrounded by houses from different periods, including the Gothic Wulflamhaus (a 14th-century patrician house, today a restaurant), and the Baroque Commandantenhus of 1751, the old headquarters of the Swedish military commander.
  The Jakobikirche (Saint James's Church), built in mid-14th century. It was destroyed several times, e.g. by Wallenstein and in World War II.
  The Marienkirche (Saint Mary's Church), built in 1383–1473 in Gothic style, is the largest church in Stralsund, and from 1625—1647 it was the world's tallest structure. Its octagonal tower (104 meters high) offers a panorama view of Stralsund and the neighboring islands of Rügen and Hiddensee.
  The Johanniskloster (Franciscan monastery built in 1254), is one of the oldest buildings in the city.
  Stralsund is the port of registry for the former German Reichsmarine Navy Sail Training ship "Gorch Fock" 1. It is now a floating museum.
  The Katharinenkloster (Monastery of Saint Catherine), mainly built in the 15th century, houses two museums today: Stralsund's Museum of Cultural History (known for e.g. the Gold Jewellery of Hiddensee), and the German Oceanographic Museum, Germany's largest aquarium and oceanographic collection. The ancient refectory of the monastery is one of the most spectacular Gothic interiors in Germany.
  Besides the mentioned German Oceanographic Museum at the Katharinenkloster, Stralsund has other museums dedicated to marine life, including the popular Ozeaneum that was voted European Museum of the Year in 2010. There is also a nautical center, the Nautineum, on Dänholm island and the Marinemuseum Dänholm, showcasing the military history of the German Navy, especially the interwar Reichsmarine. It also hosts one of the last remaining GDR Volksmarine (People's Navy) torpedo boats.
caption: Portal of the Nikolaikirche
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