Wismar [key], city (1994 pop. 53,149), Mecklenburg–West Pomerania, N central Germany, on the Baltic Sea. It is an industrial center and an oil and fishing port. Manufactures include metal products and refined sugar, and there are shipbuilding yards in the city. Wismar was (1256–1306) the residence of the princes of Mecklenburg and later became one of the most flourishing members of the Hanseatic League. Under the Peace of Westphalia (1648) the city passed to Sweden, but in 1803 Sweden pledged it to Mecklenburg-Schwerin with the privilege of recall within 100 years. In 1903, Sweden renounced all rights to the city. Wismar was badly damaged in World War II, but the medieval town center was left intact. There are several Gothic churches and many medieval houses.
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