Main sights • The historic Stralsund old town island is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. It features many valuable remnants of the Hanseatic time,
Brick Gothic,
renaissance,
baroque,
historicist and
Jugendstil buildings. and the
German Oceanographic Museum, Germany's largest aquarium and oceanographic collection. The ancient
refectory of the monastery is one of the most spectacular Gothic interiors in Germany. • Besides the mentioned
German Oceanographic Museum at the Katharinenkloster, Stralsund has other museums dedicated to marine life, including the popular
Ozeaneum that was voted
European Museum of the Year in 2010. There is also a nautical centre, the Nautineum, on
Dänholm island and the
Marinemuseum Dänholm, showcasing the military history of the German Navy, especially the interwar
Reichsmarine. It also hosts one of the last remaining GDR
Volksmarine (People's Navy) torpedo boats.
Buildings and monuments ;Old Town (
Altstadt) The centre of Stralsund has a wealth of historic buildings. Since 1990, large parts of the historic old town have been renovated with private and public capital, and with the support of foundations. As a result of the contempt for historic buildings in
East Germany many houses were threatened by ruin. The Old Town in particular offers a rich variety of historic buildings, with many former merchants' houses, churches, streets and squares. Of more than 800 listed buildings in Stralsund, more than 500 are designated as individual monuments in the Old Town. In twenty years, from the
Wende (turning point) in 1990 to November 2010, 588 of the more than 1,000 old buildings were completely refurbished, including 363 individual monuments. Because of its historical and architectural significance, in 2002 Stralsund's old town together with the old town of
Wismar were added to entitled the
UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list as the "Historic Centres of Stralsund and Wismar". ;Alter Markt Square On the Alter Markt Square there is the main landmark of Stralsund: the
Brick Gothic city hall from
Hanseatic times. This building from 1278 features a remarkable "
show façade" that serves the sole purpose of displaying wealth of the city. Citizens can walk through the city hall and its
gallery. It also features one of Europe's largest Gothic
cellar vaults. The ensemble of buildings on the Alter Markt Square includes the St. Nicholas Church, the Artushof, the Wulflamhaus, the Commandantenhus, the Gewerkschaftshaus and a new apartment complex. ;Old Town houses The historic houses with their distinctive gables, often renovated at a high financial cost, dominate the scene in the streets of the Old Town. The former Swedish Government Palace is now home to the city construction department. The Museum of Cultural History Museum in
Mönchstrasse, in one of the most important surviving original houses of the
Hanseatic era, was refurbished with funds from the
German Foundation for Monument Conservation It offers a guide to understanding the city's history over seven centuries. ;Churches Three large
medieval Brick Gothic buildings –
St. Mary's Church,
St. Nicholas Church and St. James Church, point to the medieval significance of Stralsund. Today St. James' is used purely as a cultural venue, its parish being served now by the Church of the Holy Spirit, which also dates from the 14th century. Two other churches on the Alter Markt Square and the Neuer Markt are still used for church services. The tower of St. Mary's on the Neuer Markt offers a panoramic view over Stralsund and the island of Rügen. ;Monasteries St. John's Abbey, a
Franciscan monastery from 1254, now houses the Stralsund City Archives. Regular cultural events also take place here, such as open-air theatre productions. The Gothic abbey of St. Anne and St. Bridget in
Schillstrasse was established around 1560 from the merger of the abbey of
St. Anne (1480) and the double abbey of
Mariakron (1421). The Abbey of St. Jürgen on
Mönchstrasse was mentioned in 1278 for the first time. It served in the 14th century as an old people's home. In 1743 a new building, the
Kleines St. Jürgen Kloster, was built at
Kniepertor and the site was extended in 1754 to create old people's flats and in 1841 for widow's apartments. First mentioned in 1256, the
Heilgeistkloster is now the Hospital of the Holy Spirit. , warehouses and historical ships including the
Gorch Fock ;Port Ferries to
Hiddensee and
Altefähr, as well as harbor tour boats, dock at the port. In the summer months the port is a berthing places for river cruisers. There are several yacht harbors and marinas near the Old Town. Hundreds of yachts and boats tie up along the north mole in summer. Architecturally the pilot station and the harbor warehouse (
Hafenspeicher), as well as the silhouette of the Old Town, form a unique tableau of different historical eras. The barque and former sailor's training ship,
Gorch Fock is another tourist attraction at the harbor. ==Education==