Description of the attraction
When the German biologist Otto Diebelt opened an exhibition of natural history in the former monastery of St. Catherine's Church in 1951, no one thought that this was the beginning of the history of one of the most visited museums of maritime themes in northern Germany.
Even during the existence of the GDR, it was impossible to imagine a vacation on the coast of the German Baltic without a mandatory excursion to the Stralsund Museum. The museum gradually expanded and soon the entire area of the monastery, including the church, was filled with aquariums, photographs, dioramas, and ship models. In the seventies, the tropical aquarium with live corals inhabiting it became the main attraction of the museum.
After the reunification of Germany, the maritime museum continued to get upset more and more, soon the exhibits no longer had enough monastery territories and construction spread to the nearby islands of Denholm (a former fishing village) and Natureum. Today, the Stralsund Maritime Museum has 39 aquariums, 1 wind tunnel and an oceanarium displaying a life-size whale model.
Periodically, performances for children and adults are held here. Although the museum closes at 6 pm, once a month, visitors can walk along the sea tunnel, accompanied by Poseidon and mermaids, lighting themselves with flashlights to spy on sleeping fish and find out if they sleep at all in the dark.
The Stralsund Aquarium was recognized as the best natural history museum in 2010 in Europe and was awarded the bronze sculpture "The Egg", symbolizing popular recognition and the love of visitors. The museum is open every day from 10 am and the whole day is hardly enough to have time to see all its sights.
