CURRENTLY CLOSED DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION The first museum of the Hanseatic City of Stralsund was founded in 1858 and opened one year later as the "Provincial Museum for New Western Pomerania and Rügen". It is also the oldest museum in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Exhibitions on prehistory and early history, urban history, folklore and naval history are presented in three listed buildings. The most beautiful and at the same time most valuable exhibit is the gold jewelry from Hiddensee found in 1872 - 74.
The museum, founded as early as 1858, is located in the former Dominican monastery of St. Katharinen, in the heart of the listed old town. Here you can admire two gold treasures from the Viking Age, of which the gold jewelry from Hiddensee is not only legendary, but also world-famous. Artful Stralsund faiences invite you to look and marvel, as do rare medieval ecclesiastical vestments. Many other gems tell of the eventful history of the once influential city on the Sound, of which it was said in the Middle Ages "...that it was a pearl in the crown of the Hanseatic League...".
The largest and most beautiful room of the monastery is the Sommerremter. This magnificent hall impresses with its wonderful architectural design, which includes a medieval vault painting.
A great variety of exhibits awaits the guest on the 1st floor. In addition to handicraft scrolls, petschaften and craftsman's silver, there is above all magnificent furniture of the most varied epochs to be seen here. Tableware made of glass and porcelain as well as household goods made of copper and brass give an idea of the past splendor in bourgeois living rooms. A special highlight are the astronomical and nautical instruments from the collection of Axel Count von Löwen, who as Governor General for Swedish Pomerania bequeathed his unique collection, which also includes art objects of all kinds, to the people of Stralsund in his will in 1761.
