Greifswald
- REDIRECT Template:Infobox German place
Greifswald (Low German: Griepswold) is officially known as Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, which means University and Hanseatic Town of Greifswald (from German Greif, "griffin", and Wald, "forest"). It is a town in northeastern Germany.
The town is on the Baltic Sea, about 200 kilometres (124.3 miles) to the north of Berlin in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The population is roughly 55,000, including about 11,500 students and some 5,000 employees of the University of Greifswald.
Till September 4, 2011 Greifswald was a urban district.
City council
The city council is elected for five year terms. Since the last election in 2014, the 43 city council seats are allocated as follows:
Town twinning
Finland, Kotka, since 1959
Poland, Goleniów, since 1986, twin town since 2006
Germany, Osnabrück, since 1988
Sweden, Lund, since 1990
Norway, Hamar, since 1997
USA, Newport News, Virginia, since 2007- Poland, Szczecin, city friendship since 1996
France, Angers, contacts since 1994- USA, College Station, contacts since 1995
Notable people from Greifswald
- Caspar David Friedrich, Romanticist painter
- Hans Fallada, author
- Wolfgang Koeppen, author
- Josef Sommer, actor
- Toni Kroos, Professional footballer currently playing for Bayern Munich
Greifswald Media
Medieval Fangenturm (Prisoners' Tower), Greifswald
Eldena Abbey was founded in 1199. Today only its ruins remain.
The eastern side of the historic city centre (seen from the cathedral tower)
Map showing the Greifswalder Bodden on Germany's Baltic coast. This map's source is here, with the uploader's modifications, and the GMT homepage says that the tools are released under the GNU General Public License.
Greifswald's lively market square (Marktplatz)
Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) depicted his hometown in several paintings; this is Wiesen bei Greifswald (Meadows near Greifswald), 1820.
The energy sector is important to the city's economy. Even the church in the Wieck district of Greifswald has solar panels on its roof.
Shops on the High Street (or Main Street): Greifswald is a shopping destination for the entire region.
flag of the German city of Greifswald
References
Other websites
Media related to Greifswald at Wikimedia Commons
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