Under Swedish Rule
The period of Swedish rule began in 1628 when Albrecht von Wallenstein and his armies reached the gates of the city. Wallenstein, an extremely successful commander of the imperial forces, is said to have announced: “And even if the city be chained to heaven itself, I shall take it.” From May to July his troops laid siege to Stralsund, whose inhabitants received assistance from Danish and Swedish troops to defend their city. Wallenstein failed to take the city, and was forced to withdraw on 24 July 1628.
The Peace of Westphalia of 1648 gave Stralsund, along with the whole of Western Pomerania, to Sweden. For almost two centuries – until the Congress of Vienna in 1815 – Stralsund belonged to the kingdom of Sweden, with the exception of a short interval of Danish control from 1715 to 1720. During this time it was often caught up in the battles for dominance of the Baltic, and had to defend itself against Saxon, Danish, Russian and Napoleonic armies.
Repeated military attack and severe fires left their mark on the substance of the city, two thirds of which was destroyed. But artists and architects also played a role in transforming its appearance. In accordance with the predominant tastes of the Baroque, structured brick walls disappeared behind thick layers of plaster, while many medieval gabled houses were replaced by large houses with the eaves running parallel to the street. The Swedish Government Palace on Badenstrasse and the Commandantenhus on Alter Markt represent two surviving examples of the latter.
King Charles XII of Sweden stayed in Stralsund from November 1714 to December 1715 during the Great Nordic War. As a mark of his gratitude he elevated the city and granted it a new coat of arms and a number of new privileges. But by the time he was forced to capitulate and hand the city to the Danes, it was in a sorry state indeed. The Peace of Frederiksborg of 1720 returned Stralsund to Swedish rule, and it became the residence of the Swedish governors-general and the seat of the government of Swedish Pomerania. Among the governors-general, Axel von Löwen left the greatest impression on the city’s cultural development. In his testament he left his library and his extensive collections to the city, instructing that they be made available to the public. This laid the foundations for what is now the Cultural History Museum and the Baroque Library, which is today part of the Municipal Archives.
At the end of his struggle against Napoleonic occupation, Ferdinand von Schill retreated to Stralsund with his regiment of Hussars, in the hope of escaping by ship to England. His plan came to nothing. Napoleonic troops entered the city and Schill fell in the street which is today Fährstrasse.
