Swedish Wismar ( Swedish: ''Svenska Wismar'') was a

Dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...

under the

Swedish Crown The krona (; plural: ''kronor''; sign: kr; code: SEK) is the currency of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use for the krona; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it but, especi ...

from 1648 to 1903 and corresponded roughly to the modern boundaries of the city of

Wismar Wismar (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of 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 ...

. The former

Hanseatic The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

city lies on the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

coast of modern-day

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

History

Early history

Following the Polish War and the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern Baltic coast, including

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

and parts of

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

and

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

was first occupied by

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 1628. The military occupation was converted into full ownership at the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...

. Alongside the city Sweden gained control over the area around Neukloster as well as parts of the island of Poel. Wismar quickly became the administrative center of all of Sweden's German possessions when the Royal Swedish Tribunal was set up in the Fürstenhof. This necessitated a buildup of Wismar's fortifications, an operation that Field Marshal Erik Dahlbergh was appointed to lead. The result was completely self-contained fortifications with bulwarks as an effective all-round defence system – a system meeting the most modern requirements was thus refined to great efficiency. Remains of these fortifications have been preserved, among other places, in the ‘Lindengarten' to the east of the wall of the old city.

Great Northern War

Wismar was occupied by a coalition of Danish,

n, and Hanoverian troops during the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

of 1700–1721. This resulted in the destruction of the city's elaborate defence system. After the

Treaty of Frederiksborg The Treaty of Frederiksborg () was a treaty signed at Frederiksborg Castle, Zealand, on 3 July 1720Heitz (1995), p.244 (14 July 1720 according to the Gregorian calendar), ending the Great Northern War between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. History ...

ended the war, Wismar was returned to Swedish control. However, since Sweden had lost several nearby possessions (such as

Bremen-Verden Bremen-Verden, formally the Duchies of Bremen and Verden (; ), were two territories and immediate fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, which emerged and gained imperial immediacy in 1180. By their original constitution they were prince-bishoprics of th ...

) to its rivals, Wismar began to lose significance as it became more of an outpost of Swedish control rather than the center of a larger hub.

End of Swedish rule

In 1803 Sweden pledged both the town and lordship to

Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Adolphus Frederick II divided ...

for 1,258,000 Riksdaler, reserving, however, the right of redemption after 100 years. In view of this contingent right of Sweden, Wismar was not represented at the diet of Mecklenburg until 1897. In 1903 Sweden finally renounced its claims on the town.

Architecture

Many of Wismar's most distinctive buildings were built during this period of Swedish control. The building styles of Sweden mixed with the methods prevalent during Wismar's time in the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

to create an architectural theme unique to the Baltic coast of

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The evidence of this historic style, known as

Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (, , ) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Baltic region, Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resources of standing rock (though Glacial erratic, ...

, in a number of structures led to them receiving the status of

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 2002. This site is shared with the city of

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...

References

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