Greifswald

Greifswald
Town Hall (red) and Cathedral
Coat of arms
Country	Germany
State	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
District	Vorpommern-Greifswald
Subdivisions	16 boroughs
Government
• Lord Mayor	Stefan Fassbinder (Greens)
Area
• Total	50.50 km2 (19.50 sq mi)
Elevation	5 m (16 ft)
Population (2006-12-31)
• Total	53,434
• Density	1,100/km2 (2,700/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	17489-17493
Dialling codes	03834
Vehicle registration	HGW
Website	www.greifswald.de

Greifswald 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 km (124.3 mi) 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:

• CDU: 11
• Linke: 8
• SPD: 6
• Greens: 5
• BG: 3
• KfV: 3
• AfD: 2
• FDP: 2
• Pirates: 2
• AL: 1

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

Other websites

• City of Greifswald (official website)
• university
• Pomeranian State Museum, Greifswald
• theatre