Greifswald is the principal town of the administrative district of Western Pomerania Greifswald in the northeast of Germany. It is a university town, at whose university around 5000 students are enrolled. The city is located between the islands of Rügen and Usedom, in the bay of Greifswald Bodden, a lagoon in the Baltic Sea. Also the islands Koos and Riems belong to the city of Greifswald.

Since 1991 the historical Old Town is being redeveloped. The remaining part of the original city centre with its gothic-baroque city hall and market square are today places worth visiting. The Hanseatic town houses at the market square are also worth seeing. Cathedral St. Nikolai lies in the western part of the city centre and is the landmark of the town. Around the university is the Old Town campus with an old library. Through the town runs river Ryck along whose shore leads a towpath.

Nature

The Botanical Garden and the Arboretum together enclose around 9 hectares of green area. Founded in 1793 the botanical garden is one of the oldest in Germany. The animal park Greifswald is situated on a 3.6 hectare wide park area. A petting zoo and adventure playground let the hearts of young visitors beat faster. In the district of Eldena is a 407 hectare huge nature reserve where visitors and students find rest and relaxation.

Events

The well known fishing festival Gaffelrigg is staged yearly while the international student festival is held every two years. At the Greifswald Brook Week you can enjoy numerous music events. These are dedicated to composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

Among sport events of the town are worth mentioning the sail and row competitions and the swim contest in Bodden as well as the Greifswald dragon's boat festival.

More information: http://www.greifswald.de/en.html

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