After receiving the Luebeck town charter in 1234 the city of Stralsund was developing fast and building works on the city wall, whose sections can still be seen today, soon commenced in order to protect the very core of the town. The strong East-West orientation of the roads and accentuation towards the port has its origin in the early merchant’s traffic during the 13th century. Together with the building of the town wall it clearly formed the layout of streets, squares, monasteries, churches, private houses and gates, that remained mostly unchanged since the Middle Ages.
Being a free city of the Holy Roman Empire, Stralsund became a member of the Hanseatic League and was on its way to becoming one of the most significant towns of the Hansa Union. Rapid economical growth set in and Stralsund’s ships were represented in all important trading centres: From England and Flanders, to Norway and Denmark, and even Russia and Lithuania. Also, one of the most significant historical events of the Hansa is directly linked with the name “Stralsund” – the peace treaty concluded with Denmark, signed in 1370.
From the 17th century onwards – and after Wallenstein’s failure to capture the city during the Thirty Years’ War - the town played a major role in the Swedish military system, as it had fallen under Swedish rule in the course of the Westphalia Peace Treaty. In 1720 it even advanced to being the government capital of Swedish West Pomerania.
However, after a short period of French occupation and the decease of Ferdinand von Schill in 1809, the Swedish reign came to an abrupt end by enforcing the rules of the Vienna Congress: all Pomerania and thus the area of Stralsund fell to Prussia.
Prussian rule was followed by the dark era of fascism and the bombing attack in October 1944 hit the city and its inhabitants hard, killing almost 800 people and destroying many treasurable buildings of the Old Town.
During the following post-war socialist regime many old buildings were at risk of falling into disrepair.
After reunification in 1989 vigorous efforts to renovate and restore the historic heritage were made. The continuous, successful redevelopment of the original medieval city structure was rewarded with becoming UNESCO World Heritage in 2002.
