Changeful centuries

The wide variety of fish in the Strelasund and the adjoining "Bodden" waters as well as the agricultural productivity of Ruegen and the surrounding countryside were a good basis for a brisk commercial activity which made the city reach an enormous material prosperity. In the year 1234 prince Witzlaw I. of Ruegen granted Stralsund a city charter under the laws of Lübeck. Already during this time the citizens began to express their power and their pride in the building of impressive churches and the representative town hall.
The monasteries of the Dominican and the Franciscan monks played an important role, particularly in the mental and cultural life of the city. With the entry into the trading and city league of the "Hanse" at the end of the 13thcentury Stralsund became a flourishing city of intermediate trade. The medieval ships, named "cogs", were bound for the entire North Sea and the Baltic Sea area. Loaded with herring, beer, wines, draperies, furs and ores the "Sundische" fleet headed for Russia, Scandinavia, France, England and the Netherlands. During the 14th century Stralsund was the most important city in the entire Baltic region aside from Lübeck, and in the year 1370 it was selected as a location for the peace negotiations with Denmark. The result of the negotiations, the famous "Peace of Stralsund" went down in European history as the high point of Hanseatic power.
Apart from its meaning in the Hanseatic period, Stralsund played an important role in the Swedish military great power system in the 17th and 18th century. In the year 1628 the citizens of Stralsund asked the Swedish people for help in the fight against Wallenstein and his troops -  but from that time on, however, the Swedish left rather peaceful traces in the Hanseatic city. Under the provisions of the "Peace of Westphalia" in 1648 Western Pomerania and thus Stralsund also ended up in the ownership of Sweden according to international law. Stralsund belonged to the Swedish crown for almost 200 years. Some outstanding buildings of the baroque period originate from this time, like the "Commandantenhus"- seat of the old Swedish command headquarters - at the "Alter Markt" (old market square) or the Swedish government palace in the Badenstraße.
In 1815 Stralsund became part of the Kingdom of Prussia. During the Prussian rule important parts of the infrastructure as well as public administrative facilities of the new governmental district "Neuvorpommern" were created. The year 1848 was then the hour of birth of the Prussian-German navy with the emergence of the first German naval port on the small island "Dänholm". The deployment, however, did not last long. In 1871 the fleet was transferred to Kiel. With the connection of Stralsund to the supraregional railway network in 1863 and the extension of the port, the town flourished as an export trade location, which led to the expansion of the shipping industry in Stralsund.
In the 19th century a multiplicity of new department stores, banks and hotels developed, as well as public buildings like the post office, a hospital and several schools. Valuable private town-houses of different architectural periods had to give way instead. The medieval fortifications were destroyed rigorously. One town gate after the other had to disappear. From the formerly ten town gates only two still exist today. With the abolition of the fortress character in 1873 a brisk building activity began outside of the city walls. Thus the population of Stralsund constantly increased. At the beginning of the 20th century the importance of Stralsund as a seaside resort and a tourism place in the Baltic Sea region was emphasized. With the completion of the "Rügendamm" in the year 1936 Stralsund finally became the traffic junction, which the city still is today in the merchandise and passenger traffic to the island of Rügen and to Scandinavia.