The Prussian Era
Swedish Pomerania and Stralsund passed to Prussia in 1815 in accordance with the outcome of the Congress of Vienna. The era of Prussian control was the time when the city’s infrastructure was created and the institutions of public administration were set up. Stralsund became the seat of administration of the new administrative division of New Western Pomerania.
Stralsund enjoyed another brief moment of glory in 1848, when the first German naval base was set up on the island of Dänholm. This marked the birth of the Prussian navy, but the fleet was not to remain here for long. In 1871 the warships were transferred to Kiel, and in 1933 Stralsund lost its role as regional seat of government when New Western Pomerania became part of the administrative division of Stettin (now Szczecin in Poland).
Connection to the national rail network in 1863 and expansion of the port made Stralsund into an attractive export port and caused the city’s shipping industry to flourish for a time.
Alongside industry, urban commerce became an important economic factor for Stralsund during the nineteenth century. Numerous new department stores, banks and hotels were built. In fact, the department store chains Wertheim and Tietz both have their roots in Stralsund. In order to satisfy the demands of a strongly growing population for public services, the city built a new head post office, a hospital and several schools. In the process, however, priceless old houses from the preceding epochs had to be demolished. The medieval fortifications came in for particularly rigorous treatment. Gate after gate was torn down, so that today only two of the original ten remain. In 1873 the Prussian authorities officially declared that Stralsund was no longer a fortress city, and lively construction activity began outside the city walls. By 1900 Stralsund’s population had risen to 31,000 – an almost threefold increase within a century.
As tourism grew along the Baltic coast, Stralsund began to emphasise its character as a seaside resort, the “Gateway to the North” and an attractive and interesting place for visitors and travellers. The completion of the Rügendamm bridge in 1936 really made Stralsund into the crucial transport intersection it still is today for people and goods moving to Rügen and Scandinavia.
- 7 June 1815: Conclusion of the treaty passing control of Stralsund from Sweden to Prussia
- c. 1850: Development as garrison and regional administrative centre
- 1857: First gas lighting
- 1863: First train arrives
- 1873: Stralsund loses its fortress status
