Грайфсвальд: Университетский город на Балтийском море

City in Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Germany

Greifswald , officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (Universitäts und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: Griepswoold, Kashubian: Grifiô) is the fourth largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. In 2021 it surpassed Stralsund for the first time, and became the largest city in the Pomeranian part of the state. It sits on the River Ryck, 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. 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. The closest larger cities are Stralsund, Rostock, Szczecin and Schwerin. It lies west of the River Zarow, 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 (Greifenherzöge), and thus ultimately from the Pomeranian Griffin (Pommerscher Greif), and its name hence translates as "Griffin's Forest". The University of Greifswald, which was founded in 1456, is the second oldest university in the Baltic Region after the University of Rostock. The city is well known for the ruins of Eldena Abbey (formerly Hilda Abbey), a frequent subject of the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich, who was born in the city when it was part of Swedish Pomerania. 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. Greifswald draws international attention due to the university, its surrounding BioCon Valley, the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline which ends at nearby Lubmin, and the Wendelstein 7 X nuclear fusion projects.

Greifswald is located in the northeast of Germany, approximately equidistant from Germany's two largest islands, Rügen and Usedom. The city is situated at the south end of the Bay of Greifswald, the historic centre being about up the river Ryck that crosses the city. The area around Greifswald is mainly flat, and hardly reaches more than 20 m above sea level. 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 The nearest larger cities are Stralsund and Rostock. 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.

Greifswald features an oceanic climate with some humid continental influence. Summers are pleasantly warm, although chilly at night. Due to its coastal location, heatwaves in Greifswald tend to be less extreme than other nearby locations inland. Winters are mild to cold, with occasional cold fronts coming in from Scandinavia or Siberia. Precipitation is spread throughout the year and comparatively low by German standards, while sunshine hours are above the German average.

Greifswald was founded in 1199 when Cistercian monks founded the Eldena Abbey. In 1250, Wartislaw III, Duke of Pomerania, granted town privileges to Greifswald according to the Lübeck law.

During the Thirty Years' War, Swedish forces entered the Duchy of Pomerania in 1630. Greifswald was besieged by Swedish troops on 12 June 1631

In 1763, Greifswald Botanic Garden was founded.

District(modern) District(historical) Amalgamation Size(ha) Population „Innenstadt“(downtown) Innenstadt 87.0 3.883 Steinbeckervorstadt 349.6 163 Fleischervorstadt 52.7 2.911 Nördliche Mühlenvorstadt 173.8 4.097 Südliche Mühlenvorstadt,Obstbausiedlung 108.1 4.650 Fettenvorstadt,Stadtrandsiedlung 657.3 2.853 Industriegebiet 634.7 583 „Schönwalde Iund Südstadt“ Schönwalde I,Südstadt 132.1 12.583 „Schönwalde II“ Schönwalde II 88.0 9.994 Groß Schönwalde 1974 580.8 749 „Ostseeviertel“ Ostseeviertel 219.7 8.577 „Wieck“ Ladebow 1939 544.4 499 Wieck 1939 44.2 395 „Eldena“ Eldena 1939 675.5 1.994 „Friedrichshagen“ Friedrichshagen 1960 436.5 196 „Riems“ Riems,Insel Koos 233.6 814 (Size and population data as of 2002)

Greifswald and Stralsund are the largest cities in the Vorpommern part of Mecklenburg Vorpommern. Of great importance to the city's economy is the local university 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 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's chief constitutional court, and chief financial court. Tourism plays a vital role as Greifswald is situated between the islands of Rügen and Usedom on the popular German Baltic coast, which brings in many tourists. One of Europe's largest producers of photovoltaic modules, Berlin based Solon SE, has a production site in Greifswald. The world's third largest producer of yachts worldwide, HanseYachts, is based in Greifswald. In the energy sector, an offshore natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, Nord Stream 1, 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.

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.

Among Greifswald's brick gothic 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, 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 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, part of the European Stolperstein (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 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.

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 by SWG (Stadtwerke Greifswald). Greifswald is situated at an equal distance of about to Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg, 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 and Rostock), and Berlin. The popular summer tourist destinations Usedom and Rügen can be reached both by car and train. Greifswald railway station connects Greifswald with Stralsund, Züssow, Usedom, Angermünde, Eberswalde, Berlin and Szczecin (through Pasewalk). The station is also served by ICE and EuroCity services to cities in Germany and the Czech Republic. Greifswald has a port on the Baltic Sea 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 Bay of Greifswald is a popular place for sailing and surfing, with Germany's two largest islands, Rügen and Usedom, just off the coast.