©Stillman Rogers Photography 2011
To travel to the city of Wismar is to find yourself in Medieval times. In northwest Germany, in the Mecklenburg-vor-Pommern region, the coastal city was part of the Hanseatic League, a commercial association of merchants and ship owners that dominated much of European mercantile trade from the 13th through the 17th centuries. The influence of the League embraced the Baltic, Scandinavia, Britain, coastal Europe, much of the Mediterranean and even well into Poland.
Wismar a port on the Baltic coast, was an integral part of that economic system and the wealth generated from that trade shows even today in the historic structures that line its streets. While the Second World War destroyed much of the heritage of that period elsewhere, this city preserves much of that heritage, a cityscape that deepens an appreciation of the art and culture of that period.
©Stillman Rogers Photography 2011
Wismar began as a herring fishery port and fishing continues to be an important part of the towns story. Its Alten Hafer, old harbor, continues as an active harbor today still busy with fishing craft and even a sailing reproduction of a Hansa merchant vessel, the Kogge Wismarra. Wander the huge dock area to find boats offering cruises on the Baltic, stroll the wharfs to experience fishing boats that line the docks selling smoked and fresh fish of every variety and to come for a traditional Baltic lunch of herring, a fischbrötchen or small bag of smoked shrimp for lunch on the docks. The harbor area is reached through the 15th century Wassertor (Water Gate) at the end of the Lohberg. There are four harbors here but the one visitors want is the historic and picturesque Alten Hafen.
©Stillman Rogers Photography 2011
The huge Market Square, (10,000 sq. meters) (used as parking much of the time) still serves as a busy weekly market site. In one corner is a city symbol, the Wasserkunst, a water tower, the terminus of a early 17th century water system. The white neoclassical-style Rathaus has been the guardian of the square since its completion in 1819.
Across Market Square look for the remarkable Alter Schwede house, a former Hanseatic merchant house and warehouse dating from 1380. Like most Hansa buildings of the period it sits with its gable end to the street, highly decorated with columns of windows cased in ornate brickwork. Elsewhere around the square and the surrounding streets, look for other houses with the characteristic ornate stucco gable end treatment.
©Stillman Rogers Photography 2011
The Hotel Alter Speicher on Breite Strasse makes a perfect location from which to explore the old city. Close by is the Grube, a medieval waterway dating from the 13th century and used for everything from drinking water to milling operations. Just one street back from the ring road at the harbor, the Lohberg is a long square of ancient warehouses now filled with restaurants and pubs. A visit to the brewpub Brauhaus am Lohberg is almost a required part of a Wismar visit, as it has been here for more than 555 years.
©Stillman Rogers Photography 2011
From the Market Square follow Krämerstrasse or wander the streets on either side of it. The city’s monumental Medieval brick churches are an important part of it’s heritage. Much of the 13th-century brick Marien Kirche was destroyed in 1945 but at one end is the restored vestibule, with a museum. The striking twin steeples still rise 80 meters (265 feet). These brick towers still serve as a navigation aide for ships in the Baltic. The footprint of the church has been recreated as a park, its exterior walls and interior arch bases faithfully replicated and now used as a garden for contemplation. Across the street is the ornate medieval brick Archidiakonat parish house from 1450 which was restored after the 1945 attack.
Saint George, the biggest of the city’s churches was built as the church of craftsmen and tradesmen between the 14th and 16th centuries. It was also heavily damaged during the April 1945 air raid and has been under restoration. No longer a church, it is now a concert and meeting hall. It has tall, vaulted ceilings and the majesty of its nave and brickwork make it well worth a visit. The Gothic arched windows over the entrance are remnants of the original structure. On the gable end of the nave are classic Hansa arched windows.
©Stillman Rogers Photography 2011
On the other side of town another of these immense brick Gothic churches sits beside an ancient canalize stream, the Grube. The nave of the 14th-century seafarers’ church of St. Nicholas rises 37 meters (about 119 feet) making it the fourth tallest in Germany. Its stunning red brick interior contains a number of medieval art works. Many of the objects of religious art recovered from the Marien Kirche and St Georges Church are displayed here. These include two priceless carved wooden triptychs and intricate carved choir stalls one of which was the altarpiece from St George’s church.
The modest Heiligen Geist Kirche, a 16th-century building so different from the other churches that it comes as a surprise , is buttressed red brick on the outside. It was built as a hospital or almshouse church. Behind a door at the rear of the nave are rooms originally serving as homes for the elderly poor of the parish. Inside the church, instead of the high vaulted ceiling of the other churches, there is a white interior with a low flat ceiling of outstanding 17th century painted panels of old testament stories. At the ends of the pews are finely carved medieval panels and on a window sill look for a carved medieval Virgin Mary and the three Magi. Behind the church, off Neustadt Strasse, there is a quiet medieval garden.
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