Katharinenkloster Museumsspeicher Museumshaus Marinemuseum
Museum of cultural history in St. Catherine's Monastery - Hanseatic town of Stralsund
The hanseatic town of Stralsund is almost 800 years old and exhibits many remarkable jewels of medieval architecture. Besides visiting the really fascinating churches a visit to St. Catherine's monastery in the town centre is an absolute must. This building was already mentioned in a document in 1251, only 17 years after Stralsund was granted a towncharter by the Prince of Rügen Witzlaw I. Today it is one of the best preserved and most beautiful monastery complexes of Northern Europe.Land and means to build the Dominican convent were donated by Jaromar II. of Rügen who by doing so provided for a further home for the monks of the mendicant order. In the course of three centuries, the originally modest appearance of the Dominicans' property developed into a remarkable estate, not least through the construction of a modern brick church which was begun at the end of the thirteenth century and, after its completion, was consecrated to St. Catherine. The monasteries of the mendicant orer reached their zenith in the fifteenth century, and the Dominican convent in Stralsund, at this time, was one of the outstanding ones in Northern Germany.
Already around 1400 the long hall with its three naves was lengthened by five bays to finally eight bays, the ceilings were equipped with vaulting and the enclosure buildings were erected. Around 1500 the monastery witnessed its last architectural alterations. Almost at the end of the convent's existence, the large Remter was completed with a vault painting of grotesque effect.
During the reformation, the monastery became municipal property. For a short time, it once again functioned as a sanctuary for the Brigittine nuns. From 1559 onwards, following a decision of the town council, the monastery was used as a school and orphanage.
In 1668, an arsenal of the Royal Swedish Government was installed in St. Catherine's hall. Also under Prussian rule the former monastery church functioned as an arsenal. Only at the beginning of our century, when the church was placed again at the town's disposal, did an extensive restoration of all the monastery buildings take place and the medieval core was uncovered.
Since 1924 St. Catherine's monastery has been the home for the museums of Stralsund. The Museum of Cultural History in Stralsund was founded as a museum for the province of Neuvorpommern and the isle of Rügen already in 1858 and one year later opened to the public. It is the oldest museum of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The first public exhibition galleries were located in the Town Hall. When, in 1924 the first treasures of the museum moved to the monastery St. Catherine, such spacious exhibition halls as the museum possesses today could only be dreamt of. The basis for the collection, today so manifold and extensive, was the art collection of the Swedish Governor General stationed in Stralsund, Axel Count of Löwen. He dedicated his collection to the town in 1770.
Nowadays the comprehensive collections of archeology, folk studies and history of art and culture of the region of Vorpommern are on view in four listed buildings. The permanent exhibitions on pre- and early history, on the town's history from its foundation to modern times, on fine arts and historical toys cover all three floors of St. Catherine's monastery.
The extensive prehistoric and early historic collection, some of which is unique, is one of the most significant in the region. Along with stone working tools and Ceramic of early cultures, an overview is presented of the history of the region's settlement.
Among the great treasures of this part of the exhibition are three large gold finds including the Peenermünde treasure and the Hiddensee jewels - a 16 piece set from the Viking age. The gothic altars and sculptures give masterful evidence of middle ages skill. Important documents from the town's history are also to be found in the collection as well as examples of furniture from all epochs, items from the guilds, a superb collection of Stralsund faïence - remains from the Swedish period, and Stralsund playing cards. Of particular interest is the overview of the development of the Stralsund baths and barbers.
The museum possesses extensive holdings of paintings and prints of various centuries. As well as valuable individual pieces such as Derick Baegert's (ca. 1440 - 1515) Descent from the Cross, a large scale still-life by Jan Davidsz de Heem (1606 - 1683/84) and works by Caspar David Friedrich (1774 - 1840) and Philip Otto Runge (1777 - 1810) the works of regional artists are a central theme of the collection. Lovers of modern art may like the regularly changing special exhibitions on painting, prints or photography.
Museum House
Mönchstraße 38
The largest single exhibit of the museum is located at 38 Mönchstraße. A former shopkeeper's house enables the visitor to experience over 600 years of cultural history. Renovated and restored in a remarkable way by the German Institute for the Protection of Monuments, this lively account of the history of a house is probably the only one of its kind in Germany.As one enters the hallway one is particularly impressed by the well preserved double door from the Rococo period, while the stone floor demonstrates the building's great age. The oldest details, however, are in the cellar and the uppermost of the four attics. The gothic lift wheel, which is still in working order, is one of the oldest in northern Europe. The traces of life left behind over centuries and now documented are what makes this exhibition fascinating. It was completed with items discovered during the renovation work, information about the everyday lives of the former inhabitants and a minimum of furniture of various epochs from the museum's collection.
Exhibition of Folk Culture, Warehouse
Speicher - Böttcherstraße 23
The visitor gets to know interesting facts about folk cultural traditions and the Vorpommern way of life in the museum's warehouse Speicher near the monastery. The rooms Darßer Stube and Mönchguter Stube, named after two peninsulas near Stralsund, a wood turner's and a smith's workshop expect you in the historic monument dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. Clothes, daily utensils, tools and models of houses demonstrate how the coastal inhabitants lived in the nineteenth and early twentieth century.A special attraction, and not only for children, surely is the charming collection of toys. A variety of different objects like puppet houses, boxes of bricks, tin and wooden toys, dolls and soft toys are displayed. The selection gives an insight into the period from 1850 to the present.
The Navy Museum
Sternschanze Dänholm
The Stralsund Marine Museum is located within similarly protected walls. When one reaches the green grounds surrounding the exhibition a large scale layout in the open air awaits. An original marine helicopter and and a fast-attack torpedo boat are undoubtedly part of the attraction. During the tour of the exhibition rooms which follows one gains a good impression of the military history of Dänholm and the fortress garrison town of Stralsund. Later what was to become the Prussian navy was born here.The entire collection comprises a meticulous selection of pictures, overviews, diagrams, plans, uniforms, weapons, flags, documents, models and equipment. However the exhibition does not concentrate exclusively on military aspects and includes many purely civilian items. There is supplimentary information about the history of the German Lifeboat Society and a comprehensive long-standing section on the results of underwater archaeology.
The Museum of Cultural History in Stralsund welcomes thousands of visitors each year. Also, there are evening performances of various kinds in the old monastery walls. The concerts held in the Remter are organized almost throughout the year and are welcomed by many as being especially attractive. Besides evening lectures, guided tours for all age groups are offered after previous arrangement has been made.
