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| | Historic Centres of Stralsund and Wismar - UNESCO World Heritage Centre |
 | | The medieval towns of Wismar and Stralsund, on the Baltic coast of northern Germany, were major trading centres of the Hanseatic League in the 14th and 15th centuries. |
 | | They contributed to the development of the characteristic building types and techniques of Brick Gothic in the Baltic region, as exemplified in several important brick cathedrals, the Town Hall of Stralsund, and the series of houses for residential, commercial and crafts use, representing its evolution over several centuries. |
 | | Criterion iv Stralsund and Wismar have crucial importance in the development of the building techniques and urban form that became typical of the Hanseatic trading towns, well documented in the major parish churches, the town hall of Stralsund, and the commercial building types, such as the Dielenhaus. |
| whc.unesco.org /pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=1067 (212 words) |
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