Wismar
Wismar | |
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St Nicholas' Church , St George's Church, Market Square with waterworks, Old Harbour, Gewölbe, colorful houses in the old town | |
Location of Wismar within Nordwestmecklenburg district Nordwestmecklenburg | |
Government | |
• Mayor (2018–25) | Thomas Beyer[1] (SPD) |
Area | |
• Total | 41.36 km2 (15.97 sq mi) |
Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) |
Population (2021-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 42,785 |
• Density | 1,000/km2 (2,700/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 23952, 23966, 23968, 23970 |
Dialling codes | 03841 |
Vehicle registration | HWI |
Website | www |
Wismar (German pronunciation: [ˈvɪsmaʁ]; Low German: Wismer), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (Hansestadt Wismar) is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city of Mecklenburg after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. The city was the third-largest port city in former East Germany after Rostock and Stralsund.
Wismar is located on the Bay of Wismar of the Baltic Sea, directly opposite the island of Poel, that separates the Bay of Wismar from the larger Bay of Mecklenburg. The city lies in the middle between the two larger port cities of Lübeck in the west, and Rostock in the east, and the state capital of Schwerin is located south of the city on Lake Schwerin. Wismar lies in the northeastern corner of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and is the capital of the district of Northwestern Mecklenburg. The city's natural harbour is protected by a promontory. The uninhabited island of Walfisch, lying between Wismar and the island of Poel, administratively belongs to the borough of Wismar-Wendorf.
It is estimated that Wismar was founded in 1226 under Henry Borwin I, Lord of Mecklenburg from the House of Mecklenburg, a German dynasty of Slavic origin also known as the Obotrites or Niklotides. In 1259, the city became part of the Hanseatic League. Throughout its history, the city has been under control of various German states as well as the Swedish Empire. It was part of Sweden from 1648 until 1803 (de jure until 1903, when Sweden officially renounced its claims to the city), and this Swedish chapter of the city is celebrated annually with a large "Sweden Celebration". From 1815 until 1918, Wismar lay in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and later in the Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
Wismar is a typical representative of the
History
The name of the settlement was first recorded in the 12th century as Visemer, Wismar (1147, 1167), Wyssemaria (1229)[1][4] and is probably of Slavic origin although finally disputed. Wismar could have the same os. origin like the german city Weimar[5] Wismar was part of the Western Slavic Obotrites' territory.
The exact date of the city's foundation is not clear. In the oldest existing document of Wismar of 1229 its civic rights are already established. In 1301 Wismar came under the rule of the House of Mecklenburg.[6] In 1259 Wismar joined a defensive agreement with Lübeck and Rostock, in order to effectively counter the numerous Baltic pirates. Subsequently more cities of the northern Holy Roman Empire would agree to cooperate as commerce and trade was increasingly coordinated and regulated. These policies would provide the basis for the development of the Hanseatic League. By the 13th and 14th centuries Wismar had grown into a flourishing Hanseatic trading hub and an important center of wool processing. Although around 2,000 of its inhabitants perished during the plague of 1376, the town remained reasonably prosperous until the 16th century.[7][8]
Under Swedish rule
UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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Part of | Historic Centres of Stralsund and Wismar |
Criteria | Cultural: ii, iv |
Reference | 1067-002 |
Inscription | 2002 (26th Session) |
Area | 88 ha |
Buffer zone | 108 ha |
With the
In 1803, Sweden ceded both the town and lordship to the
20th century
By the end of the 19th century Wismar's most important manufacturing branches were the production of iron and steel, roofing-felt, asphalt, paper and machine industry. International sea trade took place at the local harbour, which was deep enough to admit vessels of up to five metres (16 ft) draught at its quays. Exports included grains, oil-seeds and butter as coal, timber and iron were imported.[7] Wismar was production site for several railroad rolling stock manufacturers and since 1933 home to Norddeutsche Dornier-Werke of aircraft manufacturer Dornier.[13] On 14 May 1881 Rudolph Karstadt opened his first shop (Tuch-, Manufaktur- und Konfektionsgeschäft) of the now well established department store chain Karstadt in Wismar.[14]
During
During the 1949 to 1990 era of the
After German reunification in 1990, churches and all historic buildings in the city's town center were restored, and the old towns of Wismar and
Mayors and Lord Mayors
- 1919–1929: Lawyer Hans Rasp (1877–1957, SPD)
- 1929–1933: Heinrich Brechling (1897–1959, SPD)
- 1933–1945: Alfred Pleuger (NSDAP)
- May 1945 – June 1945: Heinrich von Biel (independent)
- June 1945 – August 1945: Heinz Adolf Janert (1897–1973) (independent)
- August 1945 – 1945: Karl Keuscher (KPD)
- September 1945 – 1945: August Wilke (KPD)
- December 1945 – December 1950: Herbert Säverin (1906–1987) (SPD/SED)
- January 1951 – June 1952 Erhard Holweger (1911–1976) (SED)
- August 1953 – June 1957: Herbert Kolm (SED)
- July 1957 – April 1969: Herbert Fiegert (SED)
- April 1969 – November 1989: Günter Lunow (born 1926) (SED)
- November 1989 – May 1990: Wolfram Flemming (SED), temporary
- 1990–2010: Rosemarie Wilcken (born 1947) (SPD)
- Since July 2010: Thomas Beyer (born 1960) (SPD)
Sights and architecture
The historical old town, centered on the huge marketplace (one of the largest in northern Germany at 10,000 m2 or 110,000 sq ft), is characterized by town houses, manufacture and trading structures of the Hanseatic League, built in Brick Gothic style during the 13th to 15th centuries, 19th-century Romanesque Revival architecture and Art Nouveau houses. Distinctive buildings and military works, built during the period of Swedish control during the 17th and the 18th centuries provide another layer of cultural influence.[3]
The market square's focal point is the Wasserkunst, an elaborate wrought-iron fountain imported from Holland in 1602. The northern side of the square is occupied by the Town Hall, built in Neoclassical style from 1817 to 1819. Another notable building on the square is a Brick Gothic patrician's home (Bürgerhaus) called Alter Schwede (Old Swede), erected around 1380.
St. George's Church, the third so-named edifice on the site, dates from 1404. It had escaped major damage during most of World War II, but on 14 April 1945, three weeks before the end of the war it was badly damaged by "Blockbuster bombs" dropped by the British Royal Air Force. Reconstruction after German reunification, costing some 40 million Euros, was completed in 2010.
The 80-metre-high (260 ft) tower church of St. Mary's Church (Marienkirche) is the only remainder of the original Brick Gothic edifice, built during the first half of the 13th century. It suffered heavy damage in World War II, and was partially razed in 1960 during the East German era.
St. Mary's Church and the church of
The Fürstenhof, a richly decorated specimen of early Italian Renaissance style was once a ducal residence and served later as the seat of the municipal authorities. Built from 1552 to 1565, it was restored from 1877 to 1879. The Old School, dating from about 1300, has not been restored yet. The town hall, rebuilt in 1829, houses a gallery of paintings.[7] The Fine Arts Municipal Gallery Baumhaus is located in the old harbour area.
Education
Economy
Notable people
- Klaus Störtebeker (c. 1360–1401), privateer
- Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (1557–1631), queen of Denmark and Norway
- Daniel Georg Morhof (1639–1691), writer, scholar and historian.[19]
- Johan Henrik Scheffel (1690–1781), Swedish painter
- Johan Carl Wilcke(1732–1796), physicist
- Henricus Christophorus Christianus Wegener (1757–1799), lawyer
- Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann (1785–1860), historian, statesman.[20]
- Heinrich Keil (1822 in Gressow – 1894), philologist
- Theodor Martens (1822–1884), architectural and landscape painter
- Friedrich Bernhard Christian Maassen (1823–1900), law professor.[21]
- Gottlob Frege (1848–1925), mathematician, logician and philosopher
- Hermann Ritter (1849–1926), viola player, composer and music historian.
- Guglielmo Plüschow (1852–1930), a German photographer of male nudes in Italy
- Marie Musaeus Higgins (1855–1926), founder of Musaeus College, Colombo
- Franz Ziehl (1857–1926), bacteriologist
- Elisabeth Krämer-Bannow (1874–1945), ethnologist, explored the islands of the South Pacific.
- Gustav Neckel (1878–1940), Germanist and Scandinavist
- Anton von Hohberg und Buchwald (1885–1934), Reichswehr and SS officer
- Helmuth Wohlthat (1893–1982), civil servant and diplomat
- Harald Weinrich (born 1927), classical scholar; scholar of Romance philology and philosopher
- Uwe Holmer (1929-2023), pastor, author and theologian; housed Erich Honecker and his wife
- Gunter Pleuger (born 1941), diplomat and politician
- Klaus Grünberg (born 1941), actor
- Simone Oldenburg (born 1969), politician, local Deputy Minister-President since 2021.
- Thomas Wiegand (born 1970), electrical engineer; substantially contributed to video coding formats.
Sport
- Heino Kleiminger (1939–2015), footballer
- Peter Sykora (born 1946), footballer, played over 270 pro games
- Joachim Streich (1951-2022), football player and coach, plyed 378 games and 98 for East Germany
- Marita Koch (born 1957), track and field athlete of the GDR and 1980 Summer Olympics champion
- Roswitha Eberl (born 1958), canoeist
- Kerstin Brandt (born 1961), high jumper
- Andreas Zachhuber (born 1962), football player and coach
- Kathrin Haacker (born 1967), 1988 Summer Olympics champion in rowing
- Fiete Sykora (born 1982), footballer, played over 430 pro games
- Robert Tesche (born 1987), footballer, played over 400 pro games
Wismar in art and literature
- Wismar (renamed "Wisborg") was the setting of the 1922 silent film St. Nicholas, the Heilig-Geist-Kirche (Holy-Spirit-Church) and the harbour area.
- Wismar was also the setting of Werner Herzog's 1979 remake Nosferatu, Phantom der Nacht. However, Herzog unable to film in Wismar, relocated his production to the cities of Delft and Schiedam in the Netherlands. The 2000 metafiction horror film Shadow of the Vampire, directed by E. Elias Merhige which depicts the filming of the 1922 silent movie also takes place in Wismar.
Twin towns – sister cities
In addition, since 1991 there is a friendship with Halden in Norway.[23]
See also
- State Museum of Technology outside of Wismar.
References
This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2020) |
- ^ Kommunalwahlen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Ergebnisse der Bürgermeisterwahlen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Landesamt für innere Verwaltung, accessed 2 August 2021.
- Statistisches Amt Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. 2022.
- ^ a b <"Historic Centres of Stralsund and Wismar". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ^ Mecklenburgisches Urkundenbuch.
- ^ Niemeyer, Manfred (2012). Deutsches Ortsnamensbuch. Berlin: De Gruyter.
- ^ Friedrich Crull (1875). Die Rathslinie der Stadt Wismar- p. XVII ff. Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.
- ^ a b c d e public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Wismar". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 754. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Franz Schildt (1871). Geschichte der Stadt Wismar bis zum ende des 13. jahrhunderts. E. Kuhn. pp. 83–.
- ^ Dumrath 1911, p. 203.
- ^ "Swedish era - Zwei Städte - Ein Erbe". Wismar-stralsund.de. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ISBN 978-3-8258-0101-4.
- ISBN 978-3-89702-370-3.
- ^ "Flugzeugbau in Wismar - Die Norddeutschen Dornierwerke". Wismar De. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "14. Mai 2006 - Vor 125 Jahren: Rudolph Karstadt eröffnet sein erstes Geschäft". Westdeutscher Rundfunk (in German). Retrieved 6 January 2021.
- ^ "Außenkommando der Strafanstalten Dreibergen-Bützow in Wismar bei den Norddeutschen Dornier-Werken". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "HyperWar: The Last Offensive Chapter XIX Goetterdaemmerung". Ibiblio. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ISBN 978-3-89622-016-5.
- ^ "Website des Förderkreises St. Georgen zu Wismar e.V." georgenkirche.de. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 836. .
- ^ Luckwaldt, Friedrich (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). pp. 732–733. .
- ^ Schlager, Patricius (1910). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. .
- ^ "Städtepartnerschaften". wismar.de (in German). Wismar. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- ^ "Wismars Freunde in Europa: Stadt will aktiver werden". ostsee-zeitung.de (in German). Ostsee Zeitung. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- public domain: Dumrath, Oskar Henrik (1911). "Sweden". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 188–221. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
External links
- Centres of Stralsund and Wismar: UNESCO Official Website
- Official site
- Wismar City Panoramas – Panoramic Views and Virtual Tours
- Hochschule Wismar, University of Technology, Business and Design
- UNESCO World Heritage Site Wismar
- Evangelische Kirchengemeinden in Wismar Archived 15 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine
- Website mit historischen Bildern von Wismar
- 17th-century account on the City