Greifswald Travel Guide
A detailed destination guide for your next Germany vacation
Greifswald Overview
Greifswald is a town in northeastern Germany. Situated approximately 200 km to the north of Berlin (Berlin vacation rentals | Berlin travel guide) in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, it borders the Baltic Sea and is crossed by a small river called the Ryck.
The population is about 55,000, including 12,500 students and 5,000 employees of the University of Greifswald. Besides the university, the town is internationally known because of the construction of the Nord Stream gas-pipeline between Russia and Germany. Greifswald is located near the Bay of Greifswald, which is the part of the Baltic Sea between the islands of Rügen (Rügen vacation rentals | Rügen travel guide) and Usedom (Usedom vacation rentals | Usedom travel guide). The Ryck River passes through the old town, which is 5 kilometers (3 mi) from the Dänische Wieck (Danish Bay
, on the southern end of the Bay of Greifswald). The small nearby islands of Koos and Riems are also part of Greifswald. The area is flat, the highest point reaching only 36 meters above sea level.
Where to stay in Greifswald?
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Things to See in Greifswald
University of Greifswald is one of the oldest universities in both Germany and Europe. Currently, about 11,000 students study at with five faculties: theology, law/economics, medicine, philosophy, and mathematics/natural sciences.
Greifswald has a number of museums and exhibitions, most notably the Pomeranian State Museum which contains history of Pomerania and arts, including works by Caspar David Friedrich, a native of Greifswald. The University of Greifswald also has a large number of collections, some of which are on display for the public.
Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Greifswald is one of several sites of the state's classical music festival
Museumshafen: historic ships in the museum port
Greifswald Night of Music (Greifswalder Musiknacht)
Greifswald long-ship festival (Greifswalder Drachenbootfest)
[ source: wikipedia ]
Maps and Driving Directions to Greifswald
Greifswald can be reached by train from Hamburg, Berlin and Rostock. There are also train connections from and to Stralsund and the popular summer tourist destinations Usedom and Rügen. Greifswald has a port on the Baltic Sea. The city centre is about 3 km off the shore, but can be reached by small boats on the river Ryck. Greifswald is well connected with Hamburg and Berlin via the Autobahn 20, and Bundesstraße 105 and 109. Germany's capital city Berlin can be reached by car within two hours or less.
Greifswald
[ source: Flickr]
Related Sites
We collected some useful links related to Greifswald. If you know a few more sites not listed here, or also know some insider tips or point of interests for this destination? Please share and submit your Germany travel tip. If approved it will be shown on this page!
- Homepage of Greifswald: Greifswald (official home page)
- Wikipedia: Greifswald
More about the History of Greifswald
In medieval times, the site of Greifswald was an unsettled woodland which marked the border between the Danish Principality of Rügen (Rügen vacation rentals | Rügen travel guide) and the Pomeranian County of Gützkow, 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. Among the lands granted the monks was a natural salt evaporation pond a short way up the river, a site also crossed by the important via regia trade route. This site was named Gryp(he)swold(e), which is the Low German precursor of the city's modern name. However, legend says the monks were shown the best site for settlement by a mighty griffin, living in a tree that was supposed to have grown on 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 with Germans in the course of the Ostsiedlung, but settlers from other nations and Wends from nearby were attracted, too.
Reconstruction of the old town began in the late 1980s. Nearly all has now been restored. Before that almost all of the old northern town adjacent to the port was demolished and subsequently rebuilt. The historic marketplace is especially worth mentioning, and is one of the most beautiful in northern Germany. The city attracts many tourists, due to its proximity to the Baltic Sea. Greifswald's greatest population was reached in 1988, with about 68,000 inhabitants, but it decreased afterwards to 55,000, where it has now stabilised. Reasons for this included migration to western cities as well as suburbanisation. 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.
[ source: wikipedia ]
What makes this Live Like a German Greifswald Travel Guide special...
This Greifswald travel guide provides you with an overview of Greifswald, Greifswald pictures, and a local travel guide that suggests many special trips, unique activities, and vacation ideas, that you can't find in a typical Germany travel guide.
Some of this information is compiled from popular and well-known sources (e.g., such as Wikipedia, Wikitravel, and great pictures from Flickr). However, what makes this Germany travel guide special is that most of the travel suggestions and insider tips are provided by local residents, property owners, and our readers, who share and submit their travel tips with us. All submissions are then editorially reviewed to ensure high quality. All this information is logically organized within this destination guide to make it easy for you to find things quickly.
In addition, the Greifswald destination guide features restaurant recommendations, restaurant reviews, where to go for grocery shopping, sports activities, getting around, cultural events and highlights, entertainment, and health related information - so you are informed for your travel to Germany, and you can learn about all the cool things you can do during your Germany vacation!
