Wismar, Germany

With the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 Wismar came under the territorial control of Sweden. Through the acquisition of Wismar and other dominions in the Holy Roman Empire, the Kings of Sweden in their role as imperial princes were entitled to a seat in the Imperial Diet. Wismar became administrative center of Wismar town and the districts of Pod and Neukloster, and after 1653 the Fürstenhof (prince's court) served as the seat of the supreme court for all Swedish dominions in the Holy Roman Empire. Wismar's fortifications were extended into an effective all-round defence system under the supervision of Field Marshal Erik Dahlbergh. Remains of these fortifications have been preserved, among other places, in the ‘Lindengarten' to the east of the wall of the old city. During the Scanian War, the town was besieged and captured by Danish forces in 1675.

In 1803, Sweden ceded both the town and lordship to the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin for 1,258,000 Riksdalers, but reserved the right of redemption after 100 years. In view of this contingent right of Sweden, Wismar was not represented at the diet of Mecklenburg-Schwerin until 1897. In 1903, Sweden finally renounced its claims to the town. Wismar still retains a few relics of its old privileges, including the right to fly its own flag.

By the end of the 19th century Wismar's most important manufacturing branches were the production of iron and steel, roofing-felt, asphalt, paper and machine industry. International sea trade took place at the local harbour, which was deep enough to admit vessels of up to five metres (16 ft) draught at its quays. Exports included grains, oil-seeds and butter as coal, timber and iron were imported. Wismar was production site for several railroad rolling stock manufacturers and since 1933 home to Norddeutsche Dornier-Werke of aircraft manufacturer Dornier. On 14 May 1881 Rudolph Karstadt opened his first shop (Tuch-, Manufaktur- und Konfektionsgeschäft) of the now well established department store chain Karstadt in Wismar.

During World War II, it was the location of a forced labour subcamp of the Nazi prison in Bützow-Dreibergen. Wismar was heavily bombed and destroyed by Allied air raids. As the line of contact between Soviet and other Allied armies formed in Europe at the end of the war, Wismar was captured by the British 6th Airborne Division's 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion on 2 May 1945, James Hill commanding, in accordance with Operation Eclipse. On 7 May 1945 British Field Marshal Montgomery and Soviet Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky met in Wismar. In accord with the Occupation Zone Agreements of the Yalta Conference Wismar became a part of the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany on 1 July 1945, as British troops retreated and Soviet troops took control over the area.

During the 1949 to 1990 era of the German Democratic Republic, Wismar became East Germany's second-largest port, after Rostock and developed a shipbuilding industry. Although the GDR government had pledged to restore the local churches and historic sites that had been heavily bombed during the war, this commitment was for the most part not fulfilled.

After German reunification in 1990, churches and all historic buildings in the city's town center were restored, and the old towns of Wismar and Stralsund (c. 110 km or 70 mi to the east), were listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In 2011, Wismar became the capital of the district of Nordwestmecklenburg.