The name of the settlement was first recorded in the 12th century and is of Slavic origin.
It comes from a personal Slavic name Wyszemir.
Wismar was part of the Western Slavic Obotrites territory.

Wismar received its civic rights in 1229, and came into the possession of Mecklenburg in 1301.
In 1259 it had entered a pact with Lübeck and Rostock, in order to defend itself against the numerous Baltic sea pirates.
This developed into the Hanseatic League.
During the 13th and 14th centuries it was a flourishing Hanseatic town, with important woollen factories.
Though a plague carried off  2,000 of the inhabitants in 1376, the town seems to have remained tolerably prosperous until the 16th century.
The name of the settlement was first recorded in the 12th century and is of Slavic origin. It comes from a personal Slavic name Wyszemir. Wismar was part of the Western Slavic Obotrites territory.
Wismar received its civic rights in 1229, and came into the possession of Mecklenburg in 1301. In 1259 it had entered a pact with Lübeck and Rostock, in order to defend itself against the numerous Baltic sea pirates. This developed into the Hanseatic League. During the 13th and 14th centuries it was a flourishing Hanseatic town, with important woollen factories. Though a plague carried off  2,000 of the inhabitants in 1376, the town seems to have remained tolerably prosperous until the 16th century.
Wismar