Contact Admin. The town belongs to Western Pomerania and flanks the Baltic Sea , and is crossed by a small river, the Ryck. It has been the capital of the newly established district of Vorpommern-Greifswald since the September district reforms. Together with Stralsund , Greifswald forms one of four urban centers of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The city's population was listed at 55, in , including many of the 12, students and 5, employees of the University of Greifswald.
Greifswald draws international attention due to the university, its surrounding BioCon Valley , the Nord Stream gas pipeline and the Wendelstein 7-X nuclear fusion projects. The town is situated at the south end of the Bay of Greifswald , the historic centre being about 5 kilometres 3.
The area around Greifswald is mainly flat, and hardly reaches more than 20 metres 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.
The nearest larger towns 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 was founded in when Cistercian monks founded the Eldena Abbey. Among the lands granted the monks was a natural salt evaporation pond a short way up the river, a site also crossed by an important south-north via regia trade route.
This site was named Gryp he swold e , which is the Low German precursor of the city's modern name — which means " Griffin 's Forest.
