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Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (german: Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...
after
Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...
,
Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. I ...
and
Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (lit. ''New Brandenburg'', ) is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban centre of the Mecklenburg Lakeland. The city is famous for i ...
. In 2021 it surpassed
Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund ( German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, ...
for the first time, and became the largest city in the Pomeranian part of the state. It sits on the River
Ryck The Ryck is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. From its source near Bartmannshagen, part of the Süderholz community northeast of Grimmen, the Ryck flows for about to the east, reaching Greifswald shortly before its mouth. The larg ...
, at its mouth into the Danish Wiek (''Dänische Wiek''), a sub-bay of the Bay of Greifswald (''Greifswalder Bodden''), which is itself a sub-bay of the Bay of Pomerania (''Pommersche Bucht'') of the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
. It is the seat of the district of Western Pomerania-Greifswald, and is located roughly in the middle between the two largest Pomeranian islands of Rugia (''Rügen'') and
Usedom Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It is north of the Szczec ...
. The closest larger cities are
Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund ( German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, ...
,
Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...
,
Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
and
Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. I ...
. It lies west of the River
Zarow The Zarow is a lowland river in Western Pomerania in the east of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. Description The lower course of the river, also known topographically as Zarow, is formed from two ditches, the Landgraben and ...
, the historical cultural and linguistic boundary between West (west of the river) and Central Pomerania (east of the river). The city derives its name from the dukes of Pomerania, the
House of Griffin The House of Griffin or Griffin dynasty (german: Greifen; pl, Gryfici, da, Grif) was a dynasty ruling the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637. The name "Griffins" was used by the dynasty after the 15th century and had been take ...
(''Greifenherzöge''), and thus ultimately from the Pomeranian
Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back ...
(''Pommerscher Greif''), and its name hence translates as "Griffin's Forest". The
University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Po ...
, which was founded in 1456, is the second-oldest university in the
Baltic Region The terms Baltic Sea Region, Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim), and the Baltic Sea countries/states refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, mainly in Northern Europe. ...
after the
University of Rostock The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...
. The city is well-known for the ruins of
Eldena Abbey Eldena Abbey (german: Kloster Eldena), originally Hilda Abbey (german: Kloster Hilda) is a former Cistercian monastery near the present town of Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Only ruins survive, which are well known as a frequen ...
(formerly ''Hilda Abbey''), a frequent subject of
Caspar David Friedrich Caspar David Friedrich (5 September 1774 – 7 May 1840) was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscape ...
's paintings, who was born in the city when it was part of
Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden hel ...
. Greifswald is the seat of the Pomeranian State Museum (''Pommersches Landesmuseum''). The recently built Ryck Barrier (''Rycksperrwerk'') protects the city from exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the Baltic. The city's population was listed at 59,332 in 2021, including many of the 12,500 students and 5,000 employees of the
University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Po ...
. Greifswald draws international attention due to the university, its surrounding BioCon Valley, the
Nord Stream 1 Nord Stream (German-English mixed expression; german: Nord and en, Stream, literally 'North Stream'; russian: Северный поток, ''Severny potok'') is a pair of offshore natural gas pipelines in Europe that run under the Baltic Sea ...
gas pipeline which ends at nearby
Lubmin Lubmin () is a coastal resort in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Lubmin is situated near Greifswald and on the Bay of Greifswald. Apart from tourism, Lubmin is a major transport and industry hub and investment location in the German ...
, and the
Wendelstein 7-X The Wendelstein 7-X (abbreviated W7-X) reactor is an experimental stellarator built in Greifswald, Germany, by the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), and completed in October 2015.Germany, approximately equidistant from Germany's two largest islands,
Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, wh ...
and
Usedom Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It is north of the Szczec ...
. The city is situated at the south end of the Bay of Greifswald, the historic centre being about up the river
Ryck The Ryck is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. From its source near Bartmannshagen, part of the Süderholz community northeast of Grimmen, the Ryck flows for about to the east, reaching Greifswald shortly before its mouth. The larg ...
that crosses the city. The area around Greifswald is mainly flat, and hardly reaches more than 20 m
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...
. Two islands, Koos and Riems, are also part of Greifswald. Three of Germany's fourteen national parks can be reached by car in one hour or less from Greifswald. Greifswald is also roughly equidistant from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin () and
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
(). The nearest larger cities are
Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund ( German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, ...
and
Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...
. The coastal part of Greifswald at the mouth of the Ryck, named Greifswald-Wieck, evolved from a fishing village. Today it provides a small beach, a marina and the main port for Greifswald.


Climate


History


Early history

Greifswald was founded in 1199 when
Cistercian monks The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...
founded the
Eldena Abbey Eldena Abbey (german: Kloster Eldena), originally Hilda Abbey (german: Kloster Hilda) is a former Cistercian monastery near the present town of Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Only ruins survive, which are well known as a frequen ...
. In 1250,
Wartislaw III, Duke of Pomerania Wartislaw III (c. 1210 – 17 May 1264) was a Griffin duke of Pomerania-Demmin. Son of Casimir II of Pomerania-Demmin and Ingardis of Denmark, he was married to a Sophia of an unknown house. As he did not have any children, Pomerania-Demmin cease ...
, granted town privileges to Greifswald according to the
Lübeck law The Lübeck law (german: Lübisches (Stadt)Recht) was the family of codified municipal law developed at Lübeck, which became a free imperial city in 1226 and is located in present day Schleswig-Holstein. It was the second most prevalent form of ...
.


Middle Ages and Reformation

In medieval times, the site of Greifswald was an unsettled woodland which marked the border between the
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
Principality of Rügen The Principality of Rügen; da, Fyrstendømmet Rygien; pl, Księstwo rugijskie; la, Rugia was a Danish principality, formerly a duchy, consisting of the island of Rügen and the adjacent mainland from 1168 until 1325. It was governed by a loca ...
and the Pomeranian
County of Gützkow The County of Gützkow (german: Grafschaft Gützkow) was a county in the Duchy of Pomerania in the High Middle Ages. It was established in 1129 from the Castellany of Gützkow. Following the death of its last count in 1359, it was reestablished i ...
, which at that time was also under Danish control. In 1199, the Rugian Prince Jaromar I allowed Danish Cistercian monks to build Hilda Abbey, now Eldena Abbey, at the mouth of the River
Ryck The Ryck is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. From its source near Bartmannshagen, part of the Süderholz community northeast of Grimmen, the Ryck flows for about to the east, reaching Greifswald shortly before its mouth. The larg ...
. Among the lands granted the monks was a natural
salt evaporation pond A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The Salt pans are shallow and large of size because it will be easier for sunlight to travel and reach the sea water. Natural sal ...
a short way up the river, a site also crossed by an important south–north ''
via regia The Via Regia (Royal Highway) is a European Cultural Route following the route of the historic road of the Middle Ages. There were many such ''viae regiae'' associated with the king in the medieval Holy Roman Empire. History Origins The ...
'' trade route. This site was named ''Gryp(he)swold(e)'', which is the Low German precursor of the city's modern name – which means "
Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back ...
's Forest." Legend says the monks were shown the best site for settlement by a mighty griffin living in a tree that supposedly grew on what became Greifswald's oldest street, the ''Schuhagen''. The town's construction followed a scheme of rectangular streets, with church and market sites reserved in central positions. It was settled primarily by Germans in the course of the
Ostsiedlung (, literally "East-settling") is the term for the Early Medieval and High Medieval migration-period when ethnic Germans moved into the territories in the eastern part of Francia, East Francia, and the Holy Roman Empire (that Germans had alr ...
, but settlers from other nations and
Wends Wends ( ang, Winedas ; non, Vindar; german: Wenden , ; da, vendere; sv, vender; pl, Wendowie, cz, Wendové) is a historical name for Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people ...
from nearby were attracted, too. The
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantiti ...
trade helped Eldena Abbey to become an influential religious center, and Greifswald became a widely known market. When the Danes had to surrender their Pomeranian lands south of the Ryck, after losing the Battle of Bornhöved in 1227, the town succeeded to the Pomeranian dukes. In 1241, the Rugian prince Wizlaw I and the Pomeranian duke Wartislaw III both granted Greifswald market rights. In 1250, the latter granted the town a charter under
Lübeck law The Lübeck law (german: Lübisches (Stadt)Recht) was the family of codified municipal law developed at Lübeck, which became a free imperial city in 1226 and is located in present day Schleswig-Holstein. It was the second most prevalent form of ...
, after he had been permitted to acquire the town site as a fief from Eldena Abbey in 1248. When Jazco of Salzwedel from Gützkow founded a
Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
friary within the walls of Greifswald, the Cistercians at Eldena lost much of their influence on the city's further development. Just beyond Greifswald's western limits, a town-like suburb (''Neustadt'') arose, separated from Greifswald by a ditch. In 1264, Neustadt was incorporated and the ditch was filled in. Eldena Abbey and the major buildings of Greifswald were erected in the North German
Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (german: Backsteingotik, pl, Gotyk ceglany, nl, Baksteengotiek) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resourc ...
(''Backsteingotik'') style, found along the entire southern coast of the Baltic. Due to a steady population increase, Greifswald became at the end of the 13th century one of the earliest members of the
Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German t ...
, which further increased its trade and wealth. After 1296, Greifswald's citizens no longer needed to serve in the Pomeranian army, and Pomeranian dukes did not reside in the city. In 1456, Greifswald's mayor Heinrich Rubenow laid the foundations of one of the oldest universities in the world, the
University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Po ...
, which was one of the first in Germany, and was, successively, the single oldest in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was '' de facto'' dissolved by an ...
. In the course of
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...
, Eldena Abbey ceased to function as a monastery. Its possessions fell to the Pomeranian dukes; the bricks of its Gothic buildings were used by the locals for other construction. Eldena lost its separate status and was later absorbed into the town of Greifswald. The religious houses within the town walls, the priories of the Blackfriars ( Dominicans) in the northwest and the Greyfriars (Franciscans) in the southeast, were secularized. The buildings of the Dominicans (the "black monastery") were turned over to the university; the site is still used as part of the medical campus. The Franciscan friary ("the "grey monastery") and its succeeding buildings are now the Pomeranian State Museum. During the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...
, Greifswald was occupied by (Catholic) Imperial forces from 1627 to 1631, and thereafter, under the
Treaty of Stettin (1630) The Treaty of Stettin ( sv, Traktaten or ''Fördraget i Stettin'') or Alliance of Stettin (german: Stettiner Allianz) was the legal framework for the occupation of the Duchy of Pomerania by the Swedish Empire during the Thirty Years' War. Conclu ...
, by (Protestant) Swedish forces.


1631/48—1815: Sweden

During the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...
, Swedish forces entered the
Duchy of Pomerania The Duchy of Pomerania (german: Herzogtum Pommern; pl, Księstwo Pomorskie; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae'') was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (''Griffins''). The country h ...
in 1630. Greifswald was besieged by Swedish troops on 12 June 1631 and surrendered on 16 June.
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...
had returned from
Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squar ...
to supervise the siege, and upon his arrival received the university's homage for the liberation from Catholic forces. After the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), Greifswald and the region surrounding it became part of the
Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
.
Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden hel ...
, as it was then called, remained part of the Swedish kingdom until 1815, when it became part of the
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...
as the Province of Pomerania. In 1871, it devolved to Germany. The Thirty Years' War had caused starvation throughout Germany, and by 1630 Greifswald's population had shrunk by two-thirds. Many buildings were left vacant and fell into decay. Soon, other wars followed: the Swedish-Polish War and the
Swedish-Brandenburg War The Scanian War ( da, Skånske Krig, , sv, Skånska kriget, german: Schonischer Krieg) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, ...
both involved the nominally Swedish town of Greifswald. In 1659 and 1678, Brandenburgian troops bombarded the town. The first bombardment hit mainly the northeast part of town, wrecking 16 houses. The second bombardment leveled 30 houses and damaged hundreds more all over the city. Cannonballs of this second bombardment can still be seen in the walls of St Mary's Church. During the
Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...
(1700–1721, Greifswald was compelled to house soldiers. While besieging neighboring Stralsund,
Russian tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ...
Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
allied with
George I of Great Britain George I (George Louis; ; 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 and ruler of the Electorate of Hanover within the Holy Roman Empire from 23 January 1698 until his death in 1727. He was the first ...
in the Treaty of Greifswald. Large fires in 1713 and 1736 destroyed houses and other buildings, including City Hall. The Swedish government had issued decrees in 1669 and 1689 absolving anyone of taxes who built or rebuilt a house. These decrees remained essentially in force, under Prussian administration, until 1824. In 1763, Greifswald Botanic Garden was founded.


1815 – today: Germany

During the 19th century, Greifswald attracted many Polish students. After Breslau (now
Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
, Poland) and Berlin, Greifswald hosted the third-largest group of Polish students in Germany. About 1900, the town – for the first time since the Middle Ages – expanded significantly beyond the old town walls. Also, a major railway connected Greifswald to
Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund ( German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, ...
and Berlin; a local railway line further connected Greifswald to
Wolgast Wolgast (; csb, Wòłogòszcz) is a town in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the bank of the river (or strait) Peenestrom, vis-a-vis the island of Usedom on the Baltic coast that can ...
. The city survived World War II without much destruction, even though it housed a large German Army (''Wehrmacht'') garrison. During the war it was a site of a camp for prisoners of war held by Nazi Germany called Stalag II-C. In April 1945, German Army Colonel (''
Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swed ...
'') Rudolf Petershagen defied orders and surrendered the city to the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
without a fight. From 1949 to 1990, Greifswald was part of the
German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...
(DDR). During this time, most historical buildings in the medieval parts of the city were neglected and a number of old buildings were pulled down. The population increased significantly, because of the construction of a nominal 1760 MW
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
-made
nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces ele ...
in
Lubmin Lubmin () is a coastal resort in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Lubmin is situated near Greifswald and on the Bay of Greifswald. Apart from tourism, Lubmin is a major transport and industry hub and investment location in the German ...
, which was closed in the early 1990s. New suburbs were erected in the monolithic industrial socialist style (''see
Plattenbau (plural: , german: Platte + Bau, lit=panel/slab' + 'building/ construction) is a building constructed of large, prefabricated concrete slabs. The word is a compound of (in this context: panel) and (building). Such buildings are often found ...
''). They still house most of the city's population. These new suburbs were placed east and southeast of central Greifswald, shifting the former town center to the northwestern edge of the modern town. Reconstruction of the old town began in the late 1980s. Nearly all of it has been restored. Before that almost all of the old northern town adjacent to the port was demolished and subsequently rebuilt. The historic marketplace is considered one of the most beautiful in northern Germany. The town attracts many tourists, due in part to its proximity to the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
. Greifswald's greatest population was reached in 1988, with about 68,000 inhabitants, but it decreased afterward to 55,000, where it has now stabilized. Reasons for this included migration to western German cities as well as
suburbanisation Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral urba ...
. However, the number of students quadrupled from 3,000 in 1990 to more than 11,000 in 2007 and the university employs 5,000 people; nearly one in three people in Greifswald are linked in some way to higher education. Despite its relatively small population, Greifswald retains a supra-regional relevance linked to its intellectual role as a university town and to the taking of the central functions of the former Prussian Province of Pomerania after World War II, such as the seat of the bishop of the Pomeranian Lutheran Church, the state archives (''Landesarchiv'') and the Pomeranian Museum (''Pommersches Landesmuseum''). Three courts of the state of
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...
are also based at Greifswald: * the Supreme Administrative Court (''Oberverwaltungsgericht''); * the Supreme Constitutional Court (''Landesverfassungsgericht''); and * the Financial Court (''Finanzgericht'')


Administrative division


Economy

Greifswald and
Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund ( German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, ...
are the largest cities in the
Vorpommern Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Weste ...
part of
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...
. Of great importance to the city's economy is the local
university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
with its 12,000 students and nearly 5,000 employees in addition to many people employed at independent research facilities such as the
Friedrich Loeffler Institute The Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI), is the Federal Institute for Animal Health of Germany, that country's leading animal disease center. The institute was founded in 1910 and named for its founder Friedrich Loeffler in 1952. The FLI is situ ...
and spin-off firms. Greifswald is also the seat of the diocese of the Pomeranian Evangelical Church as well as the seat of the
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...
's chief constitutional court, and chief financial court.
Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
plays a vital role as Greifswald is situated between the islands of
Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, wh ...
and
Usedom Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It is north of the Szczec ...
on the popular German
Baltic coast The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
, which brings in many tourists. One of Europe's largest producers of
photovoltaic module Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...
s, Berlin-base
Solon SE
has a production site in Greifswald. The world's third-largest producer of
yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...
s worldwide, HanseYachts, is based in Greifswald. In the energy sector, an offshore natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany,
Nord Stream 1 Nord Stream (German-English mixed expression; german: Nord and en, Stream, literally 'North Stream'; russian: Северный поток, ''Severny potok'') is a pair of offshore natural gas pipelines in Europe that run under the Baltic Sea ...
, stops in Lubmin (near Greifswald). Riemser Arzneimittel is a pharmaceutical company based on the island of Riems, which is part of the city of Greifswald. Siemens Communications F & E produces goods here as well. In a 2008 study, Greifswald was declared Germany's most dynamic city. According to another 2008 study, Greifswald is the "youngest city" in Germany having the highest percentage of heads of household under 30 years of age.


Politics


City Council

Politics in Greifswald, as in most of
Western Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Weste ...
, is traditionally dominated by the centre-right CDU. The city council is elected for five year terms. Since the last election on 25 May 2014, the 43 city council seats are allocated as follows: * CDU – 11 seats * Die Linke – 8 seats *
SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...
– 6 seats * Greens – 5 seats * FDP – 2 seats * AfD - 2 seats *
Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
- 2 seats * local citizens' movements – 7 seats


Twin towns – sister cities

Greifswald is twinned with: *
Goleniów Goleniów ( csb, Gòłonóg; german: Gollnow) is a town in Pomerania, northwestern Poland with 22,844 inhabitants (2011). It is the capital of Goleniów County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in Szczecin Voivodes ...
, Poland (2006) *
Hamar Hamar is a town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the traditional region of Hedmarken. The town is located on the shores of Mjøsa, Norway's largest l ...
, Norway (1997) *
Kotka Kotka (; ; la, Aquilopolis) is a city in the southern part of the Kymenlaakso province on the Gulf of Finland. Kotka is a major port and industrial city and also a diverse school and cultural city, which was formerly part of the old Kymi parish. ...
, Finland (1959) * Lund, Sweden (1990) *
Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Unit ...
, United States (2007) *
Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...
, Germany (1988) *
Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
, Poland (2010)


Friendly cities

Greifswald has friendly relations with: *
Benxi Benxi (, ) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, south-southeast of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,326,018 (1,709,538 in 2010) whom 809,655 ...
, China * Bryan, United States (1995) * College Station, United States (1995) *
Drohobych Drohobych ( uk, Дрого́бич, ; pl, Drohobycz; yi, דראָהאָביטש;) is a city of regional significance in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban h ...
, Ukraine (2017) * Pomerode, Brazil (2005) * Samos, Greece (2015) *
Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...
, China *
Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast o ...
, Estonia (2006) *
Vyborg Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus n ...
, Russia (2018)


Education


University

Founded in 1456, the
University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Po ...
is one of the oldest universities in both Germany and Europe. Currently, about 12,300 students study at five faculties:
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
,
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...
/ economics,
medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...
,
humanities and social sciences Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the time ...
, and mathematics/natural sciences. The university co-operates with many research facilities, such as: * the Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik (
plasma physics Plasma ()πλάσμα
, Henry George Liddell, R ...
) has its second site (after
Garching Garching bei München (''Garching near Munich'') or Garching is a town in Bavaria, Germany, near Munich. It is the home of several research institutes and university departments on its campus. It became a city on 14 September 1990. Location The ...
) in Greifswald and is experimenting with a
stellarator A stellarator is a plasma device that relies primarily on external magnets to confine a plasma. Scientists researching magnetic confinement fusion aim to use stellarator devices as a vessel for nuclear fusion reactions. The name refers to the ...
,
Wendelstein 7-X The Wendelstein 7-X (abbreviated W7-X) reactor is an experimental stellarator built in Greifswald, Germany, by the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), and completed in October 2015.Alfried Krupp Institute of Advanced Study *
Friedrich Loeffler Institute The Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI), is the Federal Institute for Animal Health of Germany, that country's leading animal disease center. The institute was founded in 1910 and named for its founder Friedrich Loeffler in 1952. The FLI is situ ...
on the Isle of Riems (National Research Institute for Animal Health) * ''Institut für Niedertemperatur-Plasmaphysik'' (Institute of Low Temperature Plasma Physics) * ''Technologiezentrum'' (Centre for Technology) * ''Biotechnikum'' (Centre for
Bioscience ''BioScience'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. It was established in 1964 and was preceded by the ''AIBS Bulletin'' (1951–1 ...
)


Secondary schools

* Alexander-von-Humboldt-Gymnasium * Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Gymnasium (founded in 1561 as ''schola senatoria'' and one of the oldest schools still existing in Germany) * Johann-Gottfried-Herder-Gymnasium (fused with the Jahn-Gymnasium in 2006) * Ostseegymnasium


Culture


Museums, exhibitions, and cultural events

Greifswald has a number of museums and exhibitions, most notably the Pomeranian State Museum (german: Pommersches Landesmuseum):
history of Pomerania The history of Pomerania starts shortly before 1000 AD with ongoing conquests by newly arrived Polans rulers. Before that, the area was recorded nearly 2000 years ago as Germania, and in modern-day times Pomerania is split between Germany and Pol ...
and arts, including works by
Caspar David Friedrich Caspar David Friedrich (5 September 1774 – 7 May 1840) was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscape ...
, a native of Greifswald. The University of Greifswald also has a large number of collections, some of which are on display for the public. Events and attractions hosted in Greifswald include: * ''Theater Vorpommern'': theatre, orchestra and opera * ''Stadthalle Greifswald'': medium-sized convention centre * ''Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern'': Greifswald is one of several sites of the state's classical music festival * Nordischer Klang is the largest festival of Nordic culture outside of the Nordic countries themselves *
Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
festival * Eldena Jazz Evenings * ''Gaffelrigg'' summer fair * ''Museumshafen'': historic ships in the "museum port" * regular literary events in the ''Koeppenhaus'' * ''St. Spiritus'' cultural centre * Greifswald International Students Festival (GrIStuF e. V.) * Radio 98eins (open radio) * Greifswald Night of Music (''Greifswalder Musiknacht'') * Greifswald long-ship festival (''Greifswalder Drachenbootfest'')


Cinemas

Art house is shown regularly at the film club "Casablanca", which has existed since 1992. It puts its focus on the heritage of 35mm films. The Koeppenhaus shows art house cinema as part of its special programmes. The cinema initiative "KinoAufSegeln" screening art house open air on the site of the Greifswalder Museumswerft, Greifswald's shipyard museum. It exists since 2015. All three are active members of the ''Verband für Filmkommunikation'' (Association for Film Communication) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the umbrella organisation of art house cinemas and film clubs.


Sightseeing


Medieval churches

Among Greifswald's
brick gothic Brick Gothic (german: Backsteingotik, pl, Gotyk ceglany, nl, Baksteengotiek) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resourc ...
churches is the Dom St. Nikolai (St. Nicholas collegiate church) in the city center, which, with its tall tower, is the symbol of the city. The exact date of its founding is unknown, but the original church dates from the late 13th century. The tower was built, and an organ installed in the church, in the late 14th century. In the mid-17th century, when Greifswald was part of
Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden hel ...
, severe storm damage was repaired with support from the Swedish Crown. Neglect during the early DDR period necessitated extensive refurbishment, completed in 1989, the last full year of the DDR. The St.-Marien-Kirche (St. Mary's Church), built adjacent to the Old Town marketplace in the mid-13th century, contains ground-level brick walls four and one-half meters (14 ft) thick. Medieval murals depicting scenes from the Passion of Christ were restored in 1977–84. The church organ, known as the ''Marienorgel'' (St. Mary's Organ), was installed by the
Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund ( German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, ...
organ builder Friedrich Mehmel in 1866, replacing an earlier instrument. It features 37 registers. On the west side of the Old Town stands the St.-Jacobi-Kirche (St. James's Church), dating from the early 13th century. In 1400 it was rebuilt to contain a nave and two transepts, requiring the addition of four buttresses. The original half-timbered tower, heavily damaged in a 1955 fire, was rebuilt in brick.


''Stolpersteine''

''
Stolperstein A (; plural ; literally 'stumbling stone', metaphorically a 'stumbling block') is a sett-size, concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. The project, initi ...
e'', part of the European ''
Stolperstein A (; plural ; literally 'stumbling stone', metaphorically a 'stumbling block') is a sett-size, concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. The project, initi ...
'' (literally "stumbling stone") memorial project, are scattered around Greifswald. The brass plaques, engraved with the names of Jewish residents who were murdered in the Holocaust, are embedded in the sidewalk in front of houses where they once lived. Some of the ''Stolpersteine'' in Greifswald mark the nationwide November 9, 1938, ''
Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...
'' pogroms in which members of the Nazi SA and SS murdered many German Jews, vandalized Jewish property and burned down synagogues – including the Greifswald Synagogue, dating from 1787. In 2012 all the 13 Stolpersteine were stolen, presumably by pro-Nazi extremists. The following year (2013) they were replaced. A memorial plaque was installed on the site of the synagogue in 2008 in a ceremony attended by German Chancellor
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...
.


Objects named after

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ar ...
perpetrators

* Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg Greifswald ( Alfried Krupp Institute for Advanced Study) *
Ferdinand Sauerbruch Ernst Ferdinand Sauerbruch (; 3 July 1875 – 2 July 1951) was a German surgeon. His major work was on the use of negative-pressure chambers for surgery. Biography Sauerbruch was born in Barmen (now a district of Wuppertal), Germany. He ...
Street


Transport

According to a 2009 study, 44% of all people in Greifswald use their bicycle for daily transport within the city, which, at the time, was the highest rate in Germany. There are also public local and regional bus operators. Local buses are run b
SWG (Stadtwerke Greifswald)
Greifswald is situated at an equal distance of about to Germany's two
largest Large means of great size. Large may also refer to: Mathematics * Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics * Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers * Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms (or ...
cities, Berlin and
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
, which can be reached via the Autobahn 20 by car in about two hours. There are also train connections to and from Hamburg (via
Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund ( German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, ...
and
Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...
), and Berlin. The popular summer tourist destinations
Usedom Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It is north of the Szczec ...
and
Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, wh ...
can be reached both by car and train. Greifswald railway station connects Greifswald with
Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund ( German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, ...
,
Züssow Züssow is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Transport Züssow railway station connects Züssow with Stralsund, Greifswald Angermünde, Eberswalde and Berlin. The station is also served b ...
,
Usedom Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It is north of the Szczec ...
,
Angermünde Angermünde () is a town in the district of Uckermark in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is about northeast of Berlin, the capital of Germany. The population is about 14,000, but has been declining since its traditional industrial base ...
,
Eberswalde Eberswalde () is a major town and the administrative seat of the district Barnim in the German State ( Bundesland / ''federated state'') of Brandenburg, about 50 km northeast of Berlin. Population 42,144 (census in June 2005), geograph ...
, Berlin and
Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
(through
Pasewalk Pasewalk () is a town in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. Located on the Uecker river, it is the capital of the former Uecker-Randow district, and the seat of the Uecker-Randow-Tal '' Amt'' ...
). The station is also served by
ICE Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...
and
EuroCity EuroCity, abbreviated as EC, is a cross-border train category within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains allocated to the lower-level "IC" (InterCity) category, EC trains are international services that meet 20 criteri ...
services to cities in Germany and the Czech Republic. Greifswald has a port on the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
as well as several marinas. The historic city centre is about off the shore, and can be reached by yachts and small boats on the river
Ryck The Ryck is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. From its source near Bartmannshagen, part of the Süderholz community northeast of Grimmen, the Ryck flows for about to the east, reaching Greifswald shortly before its mouth. The larg ...
. The Bay of Greifswald is a popular place for sailing and surfing, with Germany's two largest islands, Rügen and Usedom, just off the coast.


Notable people


Early Times

* Bartholomäus Sastrow (1520–1603), mayor of Stralsund and autobiographer * Sibylla Schwarz (1621–1638), poet * Count
Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld Count Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld (6 August 1651 – 29 January 1722) was a Swedish Field Marshal (''Fältmarskalk'') and Royal Councillor. He was mentor and chief military advisor to King Charles XII of Sweden, and served as deputy commander-in- ...
(1651–1722), Swedish field marshal *
Christian Thomsen Carl Christian Thomsen Carl, Christian Thomasen Carl, Christian Thomæsen Carl, Christian Thomesen Carl, Christen Thomasen Carl or Christen Thomesen Carl, in German tradition Carlson or Karlson, rarely Carlsen (born 1676 in Assens, Funen - died 29 Marc ...
(1676–1713), a Danish naval officer, saved the town council's archives * Joh. Chr. Andreas Mayer (1747–1801), physician * Christian Wilhelm Ahlwardt (1760–1830), philologist *
Caspar David Friedrich Caspar David Friedrich (5 September 1774 – 7 May 1840) was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscape ...
(1774–1840), Romantic painter * Karl Schildener (1777–1843), lawyer and local historian * Ludwig Julius Caspar Mende (1779–1832), gynecologist, obstetrician and coroner * Friedrich Christian Rosenthal (1780–1829), anatomist * Adolph Wilhelm Otto (1786–1845), anatomist


19th C.

* Heinrich Eddelien (1802–1852), a Danish history painter *
Johann Karl Rodbertus Johann Karl Rodbertus (August 12, 1805, Greifswald, Swedish Pomerania – December 6, 1875, Jagetzow), also known as Karl Rodbertus-Jagetzow, was a German economist and socialist and a leading member of the ''Linkes Zentrum'' (centre-left) in ...
(1805–1875), economist and socialist. *
Edmund Hoefer Edmund Hoefer (15 October 1819, in Greifswald – 22 May 1882, in Cannstatt) was a leading German novelist of the second half of the 19th century and a noted literary historian. Biography After graduating from a gymnasium in 1839, he studied phi ...
(1819–1882), novelist and literary critic *
Wilhelm Ahlwardt Wilhelm Ahlwardt (4 July 1828, Greifswald – 2 November 1909, Greifswald) was a German orientalist who specialized in research of Arabic literature. He was the son of philologist Christian Wilhelm Ahlwardt (1760–1830). Biography He ...
(1828–1909), orientalist * Rudolf Schirmer (1831–1896), ophthalmologist * Heinrich Heydemann (1842–1889), classical philologist and archaeologist *
Elisabeth of Wied Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise of Wied (29 December 18432 March 1916) was the first queen of Romania as the wife of King Carol I from 15 March 1881 to 27 September 1914. She had been the princess consort of Romania since her marriage to then ...
(1843–1916) first queen of Romania as the wife of King Carol I. *
Hans Hartwig von Beseler Hans Hartwig von Beseler (27 April 1850 – 20 December 1921) was a German colonel general. Biography Beseler was born in Greifswald, Pomerania. His father Georg Beseler, was a law professor at the University of Greifswald. He entered the Pr ...
(1850–1921), WWI
Colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a r ...
* Max Lenz (1850–1932), historian * Heinrich Bandlow (1855–1933), author, writing in Standard as well as in Low German * Otto Schirmer (1864–1918), ophthalmologist * Georg Engel (1866–1931), writer, dramatist and literary critic * Percival Pollard (1869–1911), literary critic, novelist and short story writer * Ludwig Tessnow (1872–1904), child serial killer * Gertrud Berger (1876–1949), landscape painter who lived here * Konrad Haenisch (1876–1925), journalist, editor and politician *
Friedrich Baethgen Friedrich Jürgen Baethgen (30 July 1890 – 18 June 1972) was a German historian born in Greifswald. He specialized in medieval studies and in history of the papacy. He studied history at the Universities of Berlin and Heidelberg, earning h ...
(1890–1972), historian, specialized in medieval studies *
Heinrich Zimmer Heinrich Robert Zimmer (6 December 1890 – 20 March 1943) was a German Indologist and linguist, as well as a historian of South Asian art, most known for his works, ''Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization'' and ''Philosophies of India ...
(1890–1943), Indologist and historian of South Asian art *
Hans Fallada Hans Fallada (; born Rudolf Wilhelm Friedrich Ditzen; 21 July 18935 February 1947) was a German writer of the first half of the 20th century. Some of his better known novels include '' Little Man, What Now?'' (1932) and ''Every Man Dies Alone'' ...
(1893–1947), author * Kurt Wolff (1895–1917), WWI flying ace


20th C.

* Wolfgang Koeppen (1906–1996), author *
Magnus von Braun Magnus "Mac" Freiherr von Braun (10 May 1919 – 21 June 2003) was a German chemical engineer, Luftwaffe aviator, rocket scientist and business executive. In his 20s he worked as a rocket scientist at Peenemünde and the Mittelwerk. At age 26 ...
(1919–2003), chemical engineer, aviator and rocket scientist *
Gerhard Gentzen Gerhard Karl Erich Gentzen (24 November 1909 – 4 August 1945) was a German mathematician and logician. He made major contributions to the foundations of mathematics, proof theory, especially on natural deduction and sequent calculus. He died o ...
(1909–1945), mathematician and logician * Ray Guillery FRS (1929–2017), physiologist and neuroanatomist *
Josef Sommer Maximilian Josef Sommer (born June 26, 1934) is a retired German-American stage, television, and film actor. Early life He was born in Greifswald, Germany, and raised in North Carolina, the son of Elisabeth and Clemens Sommer, a professor of Art ...
(born 1934), actor * Doris Gercke (born 1937), writer of crime thrillers * Hans Lüssow (born 1942), naval officer, Vice Admiral of the German navy, inspector of the navy * Lutz Feldt (born 1945), naval officer, Vice Admiral of the German navy, inspector of the navy * Joachim Dreifke (born 1952), rower, medallist in the
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
and
1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
* Cornelia Linse (born 1959), rower and medallist in the
1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
*
Caren Metschuck Caren Metschuck (later Caren Mahn, born 27 September 1963) is a Germans, German former swimmer and a multiple Olympic Games, Olympic gold medalist. At the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, she won gold medals in the 100 m butterfly, 4×100&nb ...
(born 1963), swimmer, gold medalist at the
1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
* Martin Jankowski (born 1965), author * Susanne Wiest (born 1967), activist for the
unconditional basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of an ...
* Jarkko Martikainen (born 1970), a Finnish singer, songwriter and member of the rock band YUP * Alexander Kowalski (born 1978),
techno music Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often c ...
artist * Robin Szolkowy, (born 1979), pair figure skater and twice Olympic bronze medalist * Judith Schalansky (born 1980), writer, book designer and publisher *
Sebastian Sylvester Sebastian Sylvester (born 9 July 1980) is a German former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2011 and held the IBF middleweight title from 2009 to 2011. Professional career In March 2007 Sylvester retained the WBA Inter-Continental ...
(born 1980), former middleweight boxing champion * Luise Amtsberg (born 1984), politician, member of the Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens. * Verena Schott (born 1989), Paralympic swimmer and Paralympic medal winner. *
Toni Kroos Toni Kroos (born 4 January 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid. Kroos plays mainly as a central midfielder, but has also been deployed as a deep-lying playmaker in his career. He is kn ...
(born 1990), footballer for
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally worn ...
*
Felix Kroos Felix Kroos (born 12 March 1991) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for Hansa Rostock, Werder Bremen, Union Berlin, and Eintracht Braunschweig and represented Germany at international levels U16 th ...
(born 1991), footballer for
Eintracht Braunschweig Braunschweiger Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht von 1895 e.V., commonly known as Eintracht Braunschweig () or BTSV (), is a German football and sports club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. The club was one of the founding members of the Bunde ...


See also

*
Principality of Rügen The Principality of Rügen; da, Fyrstendømmet Rygien; pl, Księstwo rugijskie; la, Rugia was a Danish principality, formerly a duchy, consisting of the island of Rügen and the adjacent mainland from 1168 until 1325. It was governed by a loca ...
*
Duchy of Pomerania The Duchy of Pomerania (german: Herzogtum Pommern; pl, Księstwo Pomorskie; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae'') was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (''Griffins''). The country h ...
*
Hither Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Weste ...
*
Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden hel ...
* ''Greif'' (ship)


Notes and references


External links

* *
University of Greifswald (official website)

Pomeranian State Museum, Greifswald (official website)

Theater Vorpommern

Greifswald, damals und heute
(private photo series on the urban agenda in the last 20 years) {{Authority control Members of the Hanseatic League Port cities and towns in Germany Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea Populated coastal places in Germany (Baltic Sea) Vorpommern-Greifswald Populated places established in the 12th century 1250 establishments in Europe Holocaust locations in Germany Antisemitism in Germany