Greifswald

Swedish Pomerania (Swedish: Svenska Pommern; German: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern Baltic coast, including Pomerania and parts of Livonia and Prussia (dominium maris baltici). Sweden, which had been present in Pomerania with a garrison at Stralsund since 1628, gained effective control of the Duchy of Pomerania with the Treaty of Stettin in 1630. At the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 and the Treaty of Stettin in 1653, Sweden received Western Pomerania (German Vorpommern), with the islands of Rügen, Usedom, and Wolin, and a strip of Farther Pomerania (Hinterpommern). The peace treaties were negotiated while the Swedish queen Christina was a minor, and the Swedish Empire was governed by members of the high aristocracy. As a consequence, Pomerania was not annexed to Sweden like the French war gains, which would have meant abolition of serfdom, since the Pomeranian peasant laws of 1616 was practised there in its most severe form. Instead, it remained part of the Holy Roman Empire, making the Swedish rulers Reichsfürsten (imperial princes) and leaving the nobility in full charge of the rural areas and its inhabitants. While the Swedish Pomeranian nobles were subjected to reduction when the late 17th-century kings regained political power, the provisions of the peace of Westphalia continued to prevent the pursuit of the uniformity policy in Pomerania until the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806. In 1679, Sweden lost most of its Pomeranian possessions east of the Oder river in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and in 1720, Sweden lost its possessions south of the Peene and east of the Peenestrom rivers in the Treaty of Stockholm. These areas were ceded to Brandenburg-Prussia and were integrated into Brandenburgian Pomerania. Also in 1720, Sweden regained the remainder of its dominion in the Treaty of Frederiksborg, which had been lost to Denmark in 1715. In 1814, as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, Swedish Pomerania was ceded to Denmark in exchange for Norway in the Treaty of Kiel, and in 1815, as a result of the Congress of Vienna, transferred to Prussia.

Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (German: Vorpommern; Polish: Pomorze Przednie), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, located mostly in north-eastern Germany, with a small portion in north-western Poland. Western Pomerania's boundaries have changed through the centuries as it belonged to various countries such as Poland, the Duchy of Pomerania (later part of the Holy Roman Empire), Denmark, Sweden, as well as Prussia which incorporated it as the Province of Pomerania. Today, the region embraces the whole area of Pomerania west of the Oder River, small bridgeheads east of the river, as well as the islands in the Szczecin Lagoon. Its majority forms part of Germany and has been divided between the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg, with the cities of Stralsund and Greifswald, as well as towns such as Ribnitz-Damgarten (Damgarten only), Bergen auf Rügen (Rügen Island), Anklam, Wolgast, Demmin, Pasewalk, Grimmen, Sassnitz (Rügen Island), Ueckermünde, Torgelow, Barth, and Gartz. The cities of Szczecin and Świnoujście, as well as the towns of Police, Goleniów, Wolin, Międzyzdroje, Nowe Warpno, and (the left-bank part of) Dziwnów are part of Poland. The German part forms about one-third of the present-day north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while the Polish part constitutes the westernmost border areas of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. German Western Pomerania had a population of about 470,000 in 2012 (districts of Vorpommern-Rügen and Vorpommern-Greifswald combined) – while the Polish districts of the region had a population of about 520,000 in 2012 (cities of Szczecin, Świnoujście and Police County combined). So overall, about 1 million people live in the historical region of Western Pomerania today.

The Pomeranian State Museum (German: Pommersches Landesmuseum) in Greifswald, Western Pomerania, is a public museum primarily dedicated to Pomeranian history and arts. The largest exhibitions show archeological findings and artefacts from the Pomerania region and paintings, e.g. of Caspar David Friedrich, a Greifswald local, such as Ruins of Eldena Abbey in the Riesengebirge. The museum was established in the years of 1998 to 2005 at the site of the historical Franziskaner abbey. Near Binz on the nearby isle of Rügen, a satellite of the museum is under construction at Jagdschloss Granitz, a former hunting lodge of the Rugian princes. This branch will be designated to Rugian history. An early 20th century museum in Stettin, then capital of the Province of Pomerania, was the "Provinzialmuseum pommerscher Altertümer", which was also named "Pommersches Landesmuseum" (Pomerania State Museum) since 1934.

The Alfried Krupp Institute for Advanced Study in Greifswald (in German: Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg Greifswald) is an institute for advanced study named after Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach. On 20 June 2000, this institute was founded by the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation, the German Land (federal state) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the University of Greifswald. These three founders (represented respectively, by Berthold Beitz, Peter Kauffold and Jürgen Kohler) co-established and contributed to the Stiftung Alfried Krupp Kolleg Greifswald (Alfried Krupp Kolleg Greifswald Foundation), which was entrusted with the task of establishing this Wissenschaftskolleg (institute for advanced study). The Krupp Foundation contributed the plot of land and the building on it, valued at €15.3m, while Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the University of Greifswald contributed the operational funding that initially amounted to €4.1m.

The Faculty of Philosophy of Greifswald University (German: Philosophische Fakultät der Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald) is one of five faculties and the founding faculty of the University of Greifswald in Greifswald, Germany. The faculty's research and teaching focuses on languages and cultures of Northern and Eastern Europe. Subjects, such as Latvian and Lithuanian Studies, Slavic Studies, Finnish Studies (including Estonian Studies) and Scandinavian Studies are offered by only a few other universities in Germany. Other classic disciplines, such as German Studies, English Studies and studies of History, Political Science, Philosophy, Psychology, Church Music and Music are offered as well. The Caspar-David-Friedrich-Institut, which was named after the 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter Caspar David Friedrich, who was born in Greifswald and received his first artistic lessons here, offers degrees in Fine Arts and Art History. Like many other universities in Germany, the Faculty of Philosophy (Philosophische Fakultät) of Greifswald University is now offering bachelor's and master's degree courses to cater to the wider interests of students. The undergraduate programmes have course duration of three years; the postgraduate programmes have course duration of two years. In addition to the usual course programmes, the Faculty of Philosophy founded the Centre of the Middle Ages (Mittelalterzentrum) in 1995. The Mittelalterzentrum is an association of 20 academics of all faculties doing interdisciplinary research and providing students and scholars with lectures concerning life and culture in the Middle Ages. It is further a programme which is not only open for graduates and professors, but for anyone who is interested in the study of different points of view on the Middle Ages, such as literary, historical, medical or any other point of view. Each year, associates of the Mittelalterzentrum organize a series of lectures, held by scholars from Greifswald University and other renowned universities. Apart from wide range of course offers provided by the Faculty of Philosophy, the faculty is greatly interested in organizing cultural events, such as Nordischer Klang, PolenmARkT and the Bachwoche. The international festival Nordischer Klang, which presents a programme filled with different events ranging from Jazz and Classic concerts to art exhibitions, is associated with the Department of Nordic and Finnish Studies. The PolenmARkT, on the other hand, focuses on the culture of Poland and is co-organized by the Department of Modern Languages, and in particular by the division of Slavic Studies. Each year for two weeks people are invited to attend Polish lectures and readings about Poland and its people, as well as several movies and documentaries and of course, as the name suggests, a market with typical Polish goods. The Bachwoche, associated with the Department of Music and Church Music, is anotherfestival and dedicated to the German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist and violinist Johann Sebastian Bach, whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period. During that week people are able to enjoy concerts and church services where some of Bach's more or less famous works are being played by the university's music ensembles, as well as lectures about Bach, his music and choir practices to sing along.

St. Nikolai, Greifswald (German: Greifswalder Dom St. Nikolai), dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of seafarers and merchants, is a Brick Gothic church located in the western part of the centre of Greifswald. It was the main church and seat of the bishop of the Pomeranian Evangelical Church.

The University of Greifswald Faculty of Law and Economics (German: Rechts- und Staatswissenschaftliche Fakultät der Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald) is one of five faculties of the university that is situated in Greifswald, Germany. Its roots go back to the founding of the university in the year 1456.

The University of Greifswald (German pronunciation: [ˈɡʁaɪfsvalt]; German: Universität Greifswald), formerly known as "Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald", is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Founded in 1456 (teaching existed since 1436), it is one of the oldest universities in Europe, with generations of notable alumni and staff having studied or worked in Greifswald. As the fourth oldest university in present Germany, it was temporarily also the oldest university of the Kingdoms of Sweden (1648–1815) and Prussia (1815–1945), respectively. Approximately two-thirds of the 10,179 students are from outside the state, including international students from 90 countries all over the world.

Greifswald Süd (German: Bahnhof Greifswald Süd) is a railway station in the town of Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The station lies of the Angermünde–Stralsund railway and the train services are operated by DB Regio Nordost and Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn.

Greifswald (German: Bahnhof Greifswald) is a railway station in the town of Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The station lies on the Angermünde–Stralsund railway and the train services are operated by Deutsche Bahn and Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn.

Greifswald Botanical Garden and Arboretum (total area 9 hectares, German: Botanischer Garten und Arboretum der Universität Greifswald), was founded in 1763. It is one of the oldest botanical gardens in Germany, and one of the oldest scientific gardens in the world. It is associated with the University of Greifswald in Greifswald, Germany.

The Botanical Museum Greifswald (German: Botanisches Museum Greifswald) is a scientific collection at the department of botany of the University of Greifswald. It was founded around 1850 by Julius Münter and is the largest botanical collection in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.