Stadtmauer Wismar

The medieval city wall once enclosed Wismar’s old and new towns from the 13th century until the 19th. Builders added towers, gates and 36 wicker houses as the wall rose beside streets like Weber-Straße. A landwehr ringed the fields, and documents from 1305 mention stables and stores built against the stone curtain. The five main gates carried names such as Hellepforte by the harbour and Poeler-Thor facing north. In 1630 Wallenstein’s engineers, led by Italian planner Alexander Borri, raised earthworks between Alt-Wismartor and Mecklenburger Tor. Swedish forces later finished the star-shaped fort, which changed hands in sieges until 1716. Today a short stretch of wall stands in the Stadtpark near Katersteig, its pforte arch rebuilt. A gothic Wassertor opens beside the harbour, and the 1685 Wasserturm still rises in Bauhofstraße. The baroque Zeughaus now houses the city library, while a former arsenal shelters shops and a care centre along Mühlenstraße.