Rostock

Rostock, the biggest port and shipbuilding center of the former East Germany, was founded around 1200. Of all the Hanseatic cities, the once-thriving Rostock suffered the most from the dissolution of the League in 1669. The GDR (German Democratic Republic) reestablished Rostock as a major port, but port work has been cut in half since reunification, and though ferries come from Gedser (Denmark) and Trelleborg (Sweden), there's little traffic. The biggest local annual attraction is Hanse Sail, a week of yacht racing held in August.