Wismar - Swedish German
Wismar is another welcoming harbor of the Baltic expanses. With its sea gates, it swallows ships and the cargo traveling with them for their further transportation along the means of the Deutche Bann railway industry, which is as reliable and durable as a hip joint.
In 2002, the ubiquitous UNESCO recognized, along with the familiar Stralsund, the old center of Wismar as the property of the republic and placed both cities on its lists. Initially, UNESCO began its must see brochure with only 7 objects. How happy I was when, while in Krakow, I learned that its central part was listed in the Heritage of Antiquity binder published by UNESCO. Here, I thought, is my first check mark on the way to filling out my complete collection of the heritage of mankind. Later, I learned that these smart guys, in addition to Krakow, had already brought about 150 such objects there.
Realizing that it is useless to compete with goggle-eyed enthusiasts, fans of conservation and preservation from under the wing of UNESCO, who, at the speed of saber-toothed bandits from the fairy tale "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves", put crosses on the gates of houses, classifying them as "legacy of antiquity", it is useless. It remained to be guided by chance in the choice of objects to visit.
But once he said: “Ah! ”And visited Stralsund, then it was time to finish: “ Wow, you! and by all means stop by Wismar. Moreover, they are not so far apart.
You should know that Wismar, as well as Stralsund, Riga, Talin and several other cities in Poland and Sweden, were once part of the Hanseatic League, which in the Middle Ages instilled fear in the Baltic region on territories beyond its control. By the way, Wismar only in 1803 moved away from the Swedes to the German Duchy of Mecklenburg.
First, for 100 years, and then in 1903, after all attempts by the Swedes to return the property were beaten off as worthily as all submissions from Andre Agassi by Marat Safin in the Davis Cup match, finally.
The first visit was timed to coincide with the fine days of the Mecklenburg lands. It was July. The sun slyly aimed its bright rays right at the bridge of the nose, and the city shone and winked at you, cheerfully reflecting the attack of sunbeams. The rich garnet hues of the brickwork stood out characteristically against the whitish-gray backing of centuries-old pavers. The blue sky pressed with authority, creating chic background screensavers for the restored old multi-colored buildings.
The audience frivolously trampled on the timeless granite pavement, twisting in all directions with overly mobile necks and loud German adjectives describing the moments of urban planning that they liked. I joined them as well.
But since I kept my interpretation of the German language for emergencies in the spirit of: “could you take a picture of me” and “this wonderful turquoise ensemble elegantly emphasizes the contours of your incomparable waist”, I just silently photographed and smiled at passers-by.
So it was possible to walk for a long time, since the battery of my camera that day went to the record, and I can smile at passers-by for 20 hours a day. But it was necessary to do something, or rather to learn. Since the theater begins with a hanger, every book with a cover, and every party with a toast, the knowledge of the new begins with the tourist information center.
It is located as conveniently as possible, on the corner of the central square. A bus with huge panoramic windows is also parked nearby, which, under the inventory of the property of the city streets passed by a gray-haired driver, will rush you through all the streets in 2 hours.
A trip for a sexually mature individual costs 9 euros, which, in my opinion, is slightly overpriced for a city that you can walk around on foot in 2 hours. Of course, you can skip the greasy details of the internecine clarification of the relations of local authorities from the lips of the German spokesman. But a thin pamphlet and a free map from the information center were enough.
The city is delightful during the warm season. You can omit all the props of tourist stuffing from exhibition museums and just start dancing around the shops and cafeterias of the central streets. But, if you are as boring as I am, then perhaps you should start with a church procession through local churches. I am not a student in any theological seminary and I am not a fan of the crusades. It's just that the churches here are really magnificent and are the top sights of Wismar.
Although, perhaps, many will prefer to first look around on the very central square. But I will return to the square later. On my second visit.
So, having stocked up on brochures and maps in the information shop to the brim, and blurted out a couple of phrases with a burly German woman behind the bureau desk, I set off aimlessly. And they looked at the highest tower of the city, which belonged to the church of St. Mary. It is literally 150 meters from the main square.
This is the most prominent tower in Wismar. It is crowned with a five-meter clock in diameter, which at 12.17 and 19 o'clock play one of the 14 bell melodies. Near the church, the territory is fenced with an original fence, on which a small sculpture park is presented. One of them is made in the form of a lady who obviously did not bother herself with dieting problems, blushing under the warm sun.
Another installation features several husbands having a good time playing tug of war. I used to want to help them, but then I realized that they were clearly not here to win, but more to enjoy the process itself.
On the site of today's park, once stood a huge church, recognized as one of the most beautiful in all of northern Germany. But, damaged during the Second World War, it was completely destroyed in 1960. So the church today is represented only by the surviving 80-meter tower.
If you go into the inner courtyard of the tower (on the left, if you look at the clock), then there is a shop with souvenirs and printed publications, as well as a small cinema hall. There, every 20 minutes, a 3D film is shown about how the construction of this church was carried out back in the 13th and 14th centuries. How many workers were in the brigade and how many hourly working days were established by local trade unions. The film is interesting for general development, especially since it is free.
Although knowledge of German would be useful here. The entrance next to the cinema hall leads to a small chapel.
After watching the film, it was necessary to advance to the next neighboring church of St. George. Here, the entire church is presented in a restored form. Entrance to it is also free, like the rest, although donations in the amount of 1 euro are very readily accepted.
A huge room with columns going up and a nave located somewhere at the level of the clouds is filled with original sculptures, paintings and other works. But the feeling of emptiness in such a huge space does not leave you from the first minutes. A good half of the parishioners from all over Wismar could be invited here. By the way, the population of Wismar is 45 thousand people, which by our standards is still quite small. Although the city has all the makings of a large metropolis, like ours, it would rather be classified as an urban-type settlement with the same level of infrastructure.
But not about that.
Like its neighbor, the church was seriously damaged during the war. In 2005, the restoration work was completed. For comparison, two photographs are presented at the output. Everything is as in promotional products before and after, demonstrating the rejuvenating effect of the efforts of skilled builders. At one time, this church was the place of the main mass for artisans and merchants.
Leaving the church, I recommend rushing to Lyubishshtrasse. Firstly, this is the central street of the city, which has gathered the largest shops on its sides, and secondly, there is another Church of the Holy Spirit here. The church is inferior in size to the previous ones, but beautiful in its own way. The church is distinguished by the absence of a nave here, instead of which a wooden ceiling was built, decorated with drawings of the 17th century.
Walking further along the central street, on the left at the corner you can see the huge department store Karstadt. This is the pride of the Germans, as the headquarters of Karstadt AG is located here.
It was here that in 1881 Rudolf Karstad, obsessed with the idea of prosperity and omnipotence, began to build his department store empire. As the guide says, he was the first to introduce such a concept as cash settlement into business. And before him, probably, they paid with sacks of potatoes or bottle caps. In general, the pre-prime was a German.
If you are not yet tired of churches, then you can dive into one more. The last one, I promise. This is the church of St. Nicholas, which is located away from the central path. But not so much that you can't reach it in 5 minutes on foot. It is as huge as the churches of Saints Mary and George. This was the church of sailors and travelers. Built in the 14th century, it fell victim to a hurricane in 1703, as a result of which it was partially rebuilt later.
A narrow canal flows along the church, one of the oldest artificial city canals in all of Germany. It connects Lake Lostener and the Baltic Sea.
From the 13th century, he supplied drinking water to residents, turned water mills and gladly added water to the fire from his bowels when extinguishing fires, until Vodokanal came to the city with its pipes and taps.
If you take a walk along the canal and trace where it is lost in the deep sea of the Baltic, then you will come to the old harbor. Along the way, you will come across a large arched gate, which was once part of a defensive wall complex built by the Swedes. The area in front of the old harbor will provide you with a gorgeous view, and travelers who are hungry after going around the church grounds will have a hearty dinner in one of the many pubs with summer tables. Several schooners are parked nearby, which you can step on without fear of sailing to another country and buy a sandwich with fresh fish filling.
From the story, I omitted the details regarding trying on jeans in one of the boutiques, eating ice cream in a summer cafe, and walking around the park and the streets of working-class districts. So everyone can. Nothing interesting.
That summer day was coming to an end, to continue another time in November. The colors were noticeably faded, and the cold weather forced him to trade his T-shirt and sunglasses for gloves and warm underpants. But the journey, in spite of everything, continued.
The market square, lost from sight last time, was more deserted today, which made it possible to see it closer. Like last time, I started with a standard trip to the travel agency. The fact is that I no longer had a card with me, and I wanted to listen to new gossip. From the Internet, I learned that somewhere there is a free exhibition dedicated to the history of the city.
Apparently, only I knew about it, since the office worker, in response to my question, gave me a map with landmarks and said that I could arrange a tour myself. You look at the map, look at the object, 2 pictures, 2 lines in German and move on. So, they say, everyone does. I didn't argue. Moreover, I do not like to argue in German. There is always the possibility of not remembering the right word in time and hanging with an unfinished phrase like a Werther robot with a dead battery.
Looking back at the square, 3 objects immediately caught my eye. The first was a beautiful well in the center of the square. Designed by a Dutch architect at the end of the 16th century, it served the inhabitants of Wismar to drink water from the well until the beginning of the 20th century, when it was no longer fashionable. Engraved inscriptions on it, in Latin and German, tell about the history of the extraction of drinking water in those days.
Directly behind the well stood a building typical of Swedish buildings, the likeness of which can be found both in Stockholm and in Riga. The telling name "Old Swede" was nominated to him in honor of the memory of the Swedish period of ownership. At the moment there is a cafe where for 12.80 you can taste a large plate of meat delights.
The most noticeable building in the entire market square is, of course, the city hall. It does not differ in noticeable antiquity, since its reconstructed version is not even two hundred years old. The old masonry was preserved only in the basement. What else was remarkable about the basement was the fact that it was there that the ball exhibition about the history of the city was located. The entrance to the cellar is to the right of the main facade. The entrance there was blocked by an imposing metal door, which confused more than one pair of inquisitive people.
Going randomly, I found that the door automatically opens when approaching closer than a meter to it. The secret of the closed door was revealed and the tourists huddled at the descent into the basement followed my example. The basement has served different purposes during its lifetime. It was both the wine cellar of the members of the Council, and the storage of fabric materials and a warehouse for coal already in our times. With its dimensions of 53x17 meters, he entered the circle "the largest cellars in northern Germany. "
Inside we were met by a fort post from the reception desk like a hotel and 2 men behind it. It was a chamber post of cellar workers. There are also storage rooms and toilets. After passing through the glass gates, you find yourself in a medieval cellar, where exhibits are exhibited telling about the city's exploits and its formation. There is also a smaller city model here.
There are 2 monitors with a video excursion into history, explanatory notes and handicrafts. In general, everything you wanted to know about the city is only in German.
Coming out of the basement, I allowed myself a short walk through the old places to refresh my memories and get fresh emotions.
Wismar is deservedly listed as a "legacy of antiquity" and imagines the miniature structure of German society with their love of order, neatness and red brick. And its location in the immediate vicinity of the sea will never tire your stay here with the bustle of the city and the artificiality of the landscape.
