Archaeological investigations were carried out alongside the refurbishment work at the MEERESMUSEUM. The finds provide insights into the more than 750-year history of St Catherine’s Convent.

The renovation work carried out at the MEERESMUSEUM between 2020 and 2023 provided an opportunity for extensive archaeological investigations. These have yielded new insights into the history of St Catherine’s Monastery and the early days of the city of Stralsund.

The St Catherine’s Monastery in Stralsund was built on the highest point in the town, above a cliff that drops steeply down to what later became the Knieperteich pond. The site was donated to the Dominicans around 1251 by Jaromar II, Prince of Rügen. Previously, a princely court had stood here, which was apparently set alight in 1249 during a raid by the Lübeckers. This is indicated by a layer of burnt debris covering the entire area.

Beneath the floor of the choir of St Catherine’s Church, built in 1283, the foundations of a chapel dating from the time of the princely court were discovered. On an adjacent excavation site, archaeologists also found the moat that surrounded the princely court and simultaneously separated the Old Town from the New Town.

Outside the church and the cloister, several previously unknown brick buildings forming part of the monastery’s economic infrastructure were found. Numerous burials took place in the church and in the north courtyard up until the Reformation. Traces of the site’s later use as a grammar school, almshouse and orphanage, as well as an army depot, have also come to light.

Meeting point: Glass Classroom (entrance via the special exhibition ‘Otto Dibbelt’s Dream: A Natural History Museum for Stralsund’)
Duration: 60 minutes
Cost: The public lecture is free with a valid admission ticket.
Recommended age: The lecture is aimed at adults.

Background:
From spring 2020 to March 2023, the State Office for Culture and Monument Preservation of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the excavation firm Archäologie in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern carried out archaeological investigations on the grounds of the MEERESMUSEUM. Excavation director Dr Jörg Ansorge reports on his work and the extraordinary discoveries made during the excavations carried out as part of the museum’s modernisation.