The question of why Stralsund's old town (together with Wismar) has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site comes up from time to time. I read in a travel report here in the forum that it's incomprehensible, since there are so many new or reconstructed buildings.
Stralsund is located in northern Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania at the Baltic coast, on the territory of the former GDR.
In 2002, Stralsund and Wismar jointly received their UNESCO designation. The city's well-preserved medieval layouts, as well as its brick and other historic buildings, are recognized. Stralsund, like Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck, holds the title 'Hanseatic City'. Several German cities still do so to honor their Hanseatic League heritage. In the Middle Ages the league was a powerful trading alliance of merchants and cities, which was active primarily in northern Europe.
For anyone interested in this UNESCO topic and, of course, in Stralsund, here's a great film. I recently became aware of it, and as a Stralsund lover, I literally had tears in my eyes. The film "Stralsund nach der Wende" (Stralsund after the fall of the Wall) shows pictures from the 1990s and compares them to what it looks like today. All the interviews are in German.
For me, this film is also a testament to the fact that you have to know the history to be able to judge whether the city deserves the title. I thought it was an incredible achievement to rebuild this dilapidated old town (which the GDR was supposed to demolish except for the churches and the town hall) in this way. It was really at the last minute that the GDR regime disappeared and the old town could be saved. I think UNESCO recognized that and not just the fact that parts of it are still an old Hanseatic city.