Greifswald
Greifswald | |
---|---|
Location of Greifswald within Vorpommern-Greifswald district Vorpommern-Greifswald | |
Subdivisions | 8 boroughs |
Government | |
• Lord mayor (2022–29) | Stefan Fassbinder[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 50.50 km2 (19.50 sq mi) |
Elevation | 5 m (16 ft) |
Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 59,691 |
• Density | 1,200/km2 (3,100/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 17489-17493 |
Dialling codes | 03834 |
Vehicle registration | HGW |
Website | www.greifswald.de |
Greifswald (German pronunciation:
It is the seat of the district of
The
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.
Geography
Greifswald is located in the northeast of
, 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 (240 km or 150 mi) and Hamburg (260 km or 160 mi). 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.
Climate
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.
Climate data for Greifswald (1991–2020 normals, extremes since 1975) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 15.1 (59.2) |
18.4 (65.1) |
21.2 (70.2) |
28.6 (83.5) |
32.1 (89.8) |
36.6 (97.9) |
35.6 (96.1) |
36.5 (97.7) |
30.4 (86.7) |
25.7 (78.3) |
19.1 (66.4) |
14.1 (57.4) |
36.6 (97.9) |
Mean maximum °C (°F) | 9.7 (49.5) |
10.9 (51.6) |
15.8 (60.4) |
21.8 (71.2) |
25.9 (78.6) |
28.9 (84.0) |
30.0 (86.0) |
30.5 (86.9) |
25.1 (77.2) |
19.7 (67.5) |
14.1 (57.4) |
10.3 (50.5) |
32.3 (90.1) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.3 (37.9) |
4.2 (39.6) |
7.5 (45.5) |
12.5 (54.5) |
16.9 (62.4) |
20.3 (68.5) |
22.7 (72.9) |
22.8 (73.0) |
18.5 (65.3) |
13.2 (55.8) |
7.5 (45.5) |
4.2 (39.6) |
12.8 (55.0) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 1.1 (34.0) |
1.6 (34.9) |
4.0 (39.2) |
8.1 (46.6) |
12.4 (54.3) |
15.9 (60.6) |
18.1 (64.6) |
18.0 (64.4) |
14.2 (57.6) |
9.6 (49.3) |
5.2 (41.4) |
2.2 (36.0) |
9.2 (48.6) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −1.2 (29.8) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
0.6 (33.1) |
3.9 (39.0) |
7.7 (45.9) |
11.2 (52.2) |
13.7 (56.7) |
13.5 (56.3) |
10.3 (50.5) |
6.3 (43.3) |
2.7 (36.9) |
0.0 (32.0) |
5.6 (42.1) |
Mean minimum °C (°F) | −9.7 (14.5) |
−8.6 (16.5) |
−5.4 (22.3) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
2.0 (35.6) |
6.4 (43.5) |
9.6 (49.3) |
8.8 (47.8) |
5.1 (41.2) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
−3.5 (25.7) |
−7.6 (18.3) |
−12.9 (8.8) |
Record low °C (°F) | −23.1 (−9.6) |
−23.2 (−9.8) |
−19.1 (−2.4) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
3.0 (37.4) |
7.0 (44.6) |
5.2 (41.4) |
2.0 (35.6) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
−12.1 (10.2) |
−17.4 (0.7) |
−23.2 (−9.8) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 45.7 (1.80) |
36.9 (1.45) |
39.0 (1.54) |
32.3 (1.27) |
52.3 (2.06) |
60.5 (2.38) |
67.1 (2.64) |
71.7 (2.82) |
52.3 (2.06) |
49.9 (1.96) |
43.3 (1.70) |
48.4 (1.91) |
599.4 (23.60) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 16.6 | 15.1 | 13.4 | 11.2 | 12.5 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 13.4 | 12.8 | 15.7 | 15.7 | 17.1 | 171.2 |
Average snowy days (≥ 1.0 cm) | 8.6 | 9.8 | 5.0 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 5.2 | 30.2 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
85.8 | 83.2 | 79.2 | 74.9 | 74.5 | 73.9 | 74.8 | 76.1 | 80.1 | 83.6 | 87.4 | 87.6 | 80.1 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 47.4 | 67.5 | 127.2 | 196.6 | 243.7 | 239.0 | 242.4 | 217.2 | 162.2 | 110.2 | 50.7 | 35.7 | 1,739.7 |
Source 1: World Meteorological Organization[3] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: Infoclimat[4] |
History
Early history
Greifswald was founded in 1199 when
Middle Ages and Reformation
In medieval times, the site of Greifswald was an unsettled woodland which marked the border between the
The
When Jazco of Salzwedel from Gützkow founded a
Eldena Abbey and the major buildings of Greifswald were erected in the North German Brick Gothic (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, 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, which was one of the first in Germany, and was, successively, the single oldest in Sweden and Prussia.
In the course of
During the Thirty Years' War, Greifswald was occupied by (Catholic) Imperial forces from 1627 to 1631,[6] and thereafter, under the Treaty of Stettin (1630), by (Protestant) Swedish forces.[7]
1631/48—1815: Sweden
During the
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
During the Great Northern War (1700–1721, Greifswald was compelled to house soldiers. While besieging neighboring Stralsund, Russian tsar Peter the Great allied with George I of Great Britain 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.[8]
In 1763,
1815 – today: Germany
During the 19th century, Greifswald attracted many Polish students.
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 and Berlin; a local railway line further connected Greifswald to Wolgast.
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.[11] In April 1945, German Army Colonel (Oberst) Rudolf Petershagen defied orders and surrendered the city to the Red Army without a fight.
From 1949 to 1990, Greifswald was part of the
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.
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
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 are also based at Greifswald:
- the Supreme Administrative Court (Oberverwaltungsgericht);
- the Supreme Constitutional Court (Landesverfassungsgericht); and
- the Fiscal Court Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Finanzgericht)
Administrative division
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 I und 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) |
Economy
Greifswald and
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.
One of Europe's largest producers of
In a 2008 study,[12] 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.[13]
Politics
City Council
Politics in Greifswald, as in most of
- CDU– 11 seats
- Die Linke – 8 seats
- SPD – 6 seats
- Greens– 5 seats
- FDP – 2 seats
- AfD - 2 seats
- Pirates - 2 seats
- local citizens' movements – 7 seats
Twin towns – sister cities
Greifswald is twinned with:[14]
Friendly cities
Greifswald has friendly relations with:[15]
Education
University
Founded in 1456, the University of Greifswald is one of the oldest universities in both Germany and Europe. Currently, about 12,300 students study at five faculties: theology, law/economics, medicine, humanities and social sciences, and mathematics/natural sciences.
The university co-operates with many research facilities, such as:
- the Garching) in Greifswald and is experimenting with a stellarator, Wendelstein 7-X.
- Alfried Krupp Institute of Advanced Study
- Friedrich Loeffler Institute 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)
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 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.
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 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
Sightseeing
Medieval churches
Among Greifswald's
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
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.[18][19]
A memorial plaque was installed on the site of the synagogue in 2008 in a ceremony attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Objects named after Holocaust perpetrators
- Ferdinand Sauerbruch Street[22][23]
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.[24] 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 250 km (160 mi) to Germany's two
Greifswald has a port on the Baltic Sea as well as several marinas. The historic city centre is about 3 kilometres (2 miles) 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.
Notable people
Early Times
- Bartholomäus Sastrow (1520–1603), mayor of Stralsund and autobiographer
- Sibylla Schwarz (1621–1638), poet
- Count Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld (1651–1722), Swedish field marshal
- Christian Thomsen Carl (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 (1774–1840), Romantic painter.[25]
- 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 (1805–1875), economist and socialist.[26]
- Edmund Hoefer (1819–1882), novelist and literary critic.[27]
- Wilhelm Ahlwardt (1828–1909), orientalist
- Rudolf Schirmer (1831–1896), ophthalmologist
- Heinrich Heydemann (1842–1889), classical philologist and archaeologist
- King Carol I.[28]
- Hans Hartwig von Beseler (1850–1921), WWI Colonel general
- 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 (1890–1972), historian, specialized in medieval studies
- Heinrich Zimmer (1890–1943), Indologist and historian of South Asian art
- Hans Fallada (1893–1947), author
- Kurt Wolff (1895–1917), WWI flying ace
20th C.
- Wolfgang Koeppen (1906–1996), author
- Magnus von Braun (1919–2003), chemical engineer, aviator and rocket scientist
- Gerhard Gentzen (1909–1945), mathematician and logician
- Ray Guillery FRS (1929–2017), physiologist and neuroanatomist
- Josef Sommer (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 and 1980 Summer Olympics
- Cornelia Linse (born 1959), rower and medallist in the 1980 Summer Olympics
- Caren Metschuck (born 1963), swimmer, gold medalist at the 1980 Summer Olympics
- Martin Jankowski (born 1965), author
- unconditional basic income
- Jarkko Martikainen (born 1970), a Finnish singer, songwriter and member of the rock band YUP
- techno musicartist
- Robin Szolkowy, (born 1979), pair figure skater and twice Olympic bronze medalist
- Judith Schalansky (born 1980), writer, book designer and publisher
- Sebastian Sylvester (born 1980), former middleweight boxing champion
- Luise Amtsberg (born 1984), politician, member of the Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens.
- Paralympic swimmerand Paralympic medal winner.
- Real Madrid
- Felix Kroos (born 1991), footballer for Eintracht Braunschweig
See also
- Principality of Rügen
- Duchy of Pomerania
- Hither Pomerania
- Swedish Pomerania
- Greif (ship)
Notes and references
- ^ Kommunalwahlen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Ergebnisse der Bürgermeisterwahlen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Landesamt für innere Verwaltung, accessed 13 November 2022.
- Statistisches Amt Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. 2023.
- ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020". World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ "Normales et records climatologiques 1991–2020 à Greifswald" (in French). Infoclimat. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ a b "No Name". Greifswald. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
- ^ ISBN 3-8258-7150-9.
- ISBN 3-8258-7150-9.
- ISBN 3-8258-7396-X, 9783825873967, [1]
- ^ S. Wierzchosławski, Polskie organizacje studenckie na uniwersytecie w Gryfii w drugiej połowie XIX i początkach XX wieku, Studia Historica Slavo- Germanica T. X — 1981, s. 127 – 140
- ^ Die Universität Greifswald in der Bildungslandschaft des Ostseeraums, page 372 Dirk Alvermann, Nils Jörn, Jens E. Olesen
- ^ Jewish Library Nazi POW Camps
- ^ Siehe Handelsblatt: https://www.handelsblatt.com/news/Default.aspx?_p=302919&_t=ft&_b=1245899
- ^ Study shows: Greifswald is Germany's 'youngest city'
- ^ "Städtepartnerschaften". greifswald.de (in German). Greifswald. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
- ^ "Städtefreundschaften". greifswald.de (in German). Greifswald. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
- ^ "Home". casablanca-greifswald.de.
- ^ "Kino auf Segeln". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
- ^ Nach Diebstahl: Greifswalder Stolpersteine werden neu verlegt. 2013. Ostsee Zeitung. 15 May.
- ^ GERMANY-WWII-HISTORY-NAZIS-JEWS-STUMBLING STONES.
- ^ Lev Golinkin. 2022 (interactive map). Monuments and Streets Named After Nazis Worldwide. Forward
- ^ Tomasz Kamusella. 2019. Krupp in Greifswald: On the Perils of Forgetting about the Holocaust. New Eastern Europe. 18 June.
- ^ Lev Golinkin. 2022 (interactive map). Monuments and Streets Named After Nazis Worldwide. Forward
- ^ Gerhard Baader, Susan E. Lederer, Morris Low, Florian Schmaltz and Alexander V. Schwerin. 2005. Pathways to Human Experimentation, 1933-1945: Germany, Japan, and the United States (pp 205-231). In: Carola Sachse and Mark Walker, eds. Politics and Science in Wartime: Comparative International Perspectives on the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute (Ser: Osiris, 2nd Series, Vol. 20). Washington DC: Georgetown University. BMW Center for German & European Studies, p 216.
- ^ Greifswald ist Fahrradhauptstadt Deutschlands, press release 2009-10-20
- New International Encyclopedia. Vol. VIII. 1905.
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 437. .
- ^ Collier's New Encyclopedia. Vol. V. 1921. .
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 286. .
External links
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. XI (9th ed.). 1880. pp. 183–184. .
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 577. .
- Official website (in German)
- University of Greifswald (official website) (in German)
- Pomeranian State Museum, Greifswald (official website) (in German)
- Theater Vorpommern (in German)
- Greifswald, damals und heute (in German) (private photo series on the urban agenda in the last 20 years)