Online-Card - Stralsund

St Nicholas’ Church (Photo: V. Herre)

Stralsund – the Brick Gothic island
Shipbuilding has been important for the economy of Stralsund for centuries. Today, the Volkswerft shipyard produces container ships in a modern compact shipbuilding centre. And investment is being made in new technologies for the future, through the University of applied sciences and the technology centre. Tourism is also a key element of the economy. The German Oceanographic Museum in the heart of the old town is the jewel in the crown of a spectrum of museums that attracts thousands of visitors to Stralsund every year. The Oceanographic Museum’s main site in the historic Abbey of St Catherine’s will soon be joined by a new centre on Hafeninsel, the OZEANEUM which is scheduled to open in 2008. There, huge aquariums will take visitors on a journey of discovery through the northern seas. The biggest Baltic Sea exhibition in Europe will focus on everything that is special about the little sea on Stralsund’s doorstep, which has been so central to the city’s economy since the Middle Ages. But there will be other exhibitions too, such as ‘Giants of the Deep’ and ‘Sea for Kids’ making the OZEANEUM a major new attraction in this historic city.



