Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. In medieval ages, the Stralsund area was part of the West Slavic Principality of Rügen, which was part of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1168. At that time, the Dänholm isle and a small fishing village, both at the site of the latter city, were named Strale / Stralow, meaning "arrow" (this meaning is still preserved in the town''s coat of arms, showing an arrow). In the course of German Ostsiedlung, many German settlers, gentry and merchants were called into the principality, and eventually populated the Strale site. Merchants from other countries as well as locals were attracted to the settlement and made up for one third of the city''s population. The Danish navy was using the isle as well. When the settlement had grown to town size, prince Wizlaw I of Rügen granted Lübeck law to "our town Stralow" in 1234. In 1240, when the prince gave additional land to the city, he called it Stralesund.