Angela Merkel: A Chancellorship Forged in Crisis

Chapter 8

Judges (German Model)

Stralsund, the biggest city in Merkel’s electoral district, is enough of a showcase that the chancellor invites foreign leaders such as George W. Bush to the almost 800-year-old port, which began as a Slavic fishing village. Restored after German reunification, the Baltic city’s gabled townhouses speak to the wealth of merchants who prospered as part of the Hanseatic League trading bloc in the Middle Ages. The Gothic-style brick town hall, begun in the 13th century, dominates the town center, which won Stralsund its place on the World Heritage list; St. Mary’s church spire rises over the waterfront. Tourism has helped replace lost industrial jobs, with tour buses flocking to the city’s aquarium and marine museum, ...