Editing Greifswald (section)

==History==

===Early history===

Greifswald was founded in 1199 when [[Cistercian monks]] founded the [[Eldena Abbey]].<ref name="Greifswaldhistory">{{cite web|title=No Name|url=http://www.greifswald.de/en.html|publisher=Greifswald|access-date=8 April 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517055345/http://www.greifswald.de/en.html|archive-date=17 May 2011}}</ref> In 1250, [[Wartislaw III, Duke of Pomerania]], granted town privileges to Greifswald according to the [[Lübeck law]].<ref name="Greifswaldhistory"/>

===Middle Ages and Reformation===
[[File:Greifswald Fangenturm.jpg|thumb|upright|Medieval ''Fangenturm'' (Prisoners' Tower), Greifswald]]
[[File:Klosterruine Eldena2.jpg|thumb|[[Eldena Abbey]] was founded in 1199. Today only its ruins remain.]]
[[File:Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald 044.jpg|thumb|The eastern side of the historic city centre (seen from the cathedral tower)]]

In medieval times, the site of Greifswald was an unsettled woodland which marked the border between the [[Denmark|Danish]] [[Principality of Rügen]] and the [[Pomeranian duchies and dukes|Pomeranian]] [[County of Gützkow]], which at that time was also under Danish control. In 1199, the Rugian Prince [[Jaromar I]] allowed Danish [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] monks to build [[Eldena Abbey|Hilda Abbey, now Eldena Abbey]], at the mouth of the River [[Ryck]]. 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|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." Legend says the monks were shown the best site for settlement by a mighty griffin living in a tree that supposedly grew on what became Greifswald's oldest street, the ''Schuhagen''. The town's construction followed a scheme of rectangular streets, with church and market sites reserved in central positions. It was settled primarily by Germans in the course of the {{lang|de|[[Ostsiedlung]]}}, but settlers from other nations and [[Wends]] from nearby were attracted, too.

The [[salt]] trade helped Eldena Abbey to become an influential religious center, and Greifswald became a widely known market. When the Danes had to surrender their [[Pomerania]]n lands south of the Ryck, after losing the [[Battle of Bornhöved (1227)|Battle of Bornhöved]] in 1227, the town succeeded to the [[Pomeranian duchies and dukes|Pomeranian dukes]]. In 1241, the Rugian prince [[Wizlaw I]] and the Pomeranian duke [[Wartislaw III]] both granted Greifswald market rights. In 1250, the latter granted the town a charter under [[Lübeck law]], after he had been permitted to acquire the town site as a fief from Eldena Abbey in 1248.

When Jazco of Salzwedel from Gützkow founded a [[Franciscan]] friary within the walls of Greifswald, the Cistercians at Eldena lost much of their influence on the city's further development. Just beyond Greifswald's western limits, a town-like suburb (''Neustadt'') arose, separated from Greifswald by a ditch. In 1264, Neustadt was incorporated and the ditch was filled in.

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 [[List of oldest universities in continuous operation|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 [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]].

In the course of [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]], Eldena Abbey ceased to function as a monastery. Its possessions fell to the Pomeranian dukes; the bricks of its Gothic buildings were used by the locals for other construction. Eldena lost its separate status and was later absorbed into the town of Greifswald. The religious houses within the town walls, the priories of the Blackfriars ([[Dominican Order|Dominicans]]) in the northwest and the Greyfriars (Franciscans) in the southeast, were secularized. The buildings of the Dominicans (the "black monastery") were turned over to the university; the site is still used as part of the medical campus. The Franciscan friary ("the "grey monastery") and its succeeding buildings are now the [[Pomeranian State Museum]].

During the [[Thirty Years' War]], Greifswald was occupied by (Catholic) Imperial forces from 1627 to 1631,<ref name="Langer406"/> and thereafter, under the [[Treaty of Stettin (1630)]], by (Protestant) Swedish forces.<ref>{{cite book|title=Gemeinsame Bekannte: Schweden und Deutschland in der Frühen Neuzeit|editor1-first=Ivo|editor1-last=Asmus|editor2-first=Heiko|editor2-last=Droste|editor3-first=Jens E.|editor3-last=Olesen|first=Herbert|last=Langer|chapter=Die Anfänge des Garnisionswesens in Pommern|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nI9dItT816kC&pg=PA397|publisher=LIT Verlag|location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster|year=2003|isbn=3-8258-7150-9|language=de|page=397}}</ref>

===1631/48—1815: Sweden===
{{Further|Treaty of Stettin (1630)|Swedish Pomerania}}

[[File:GreifswalderBodden.png|thumb|right|Bay of Greifswald]]

[[File:Greifswald - Marktplatz 3.jpg|thumb|Greifswald's lively market square (''Marktplatz'')]]

During the [[Thirty Years' War]], Swedish forces entered the [[Duchy of Pomerania]] in 1630.<ref name=Langer406>{{cite book|title=Gemeinsame Bekannte: Schweden und Deutschland in der Frühen Neuzeit|editor1-first=Ivo|editor1-last=Asmus|editor2-first=Heiko|editor2-last=Droste|editor3-first=Jens E.|editor3-last=Olesen|first=Herbert|last=Langer|chapter=Die Anfänge des Garnisionswesens in Pommern|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nI9dItT816kC&pg=PA397|publisher=LIT Verlag|location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster|year=2003|isbn=3-8258-7150-9|language=de|page=403}}</ref> Greifswald was besieged by Swedish troops on 12 June 1631<ref name=Langer406/> and surrendered on 16 June.<ref name=Langer406/> [[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden]] had returned from [[Margraviate of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]] to supervise the siege, and upon his arrival received the university's homage for the liberation from Catholic forces.<ref name=Langer406/> After the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), Greifswald and the region surrounding it became part of the [[Kingdom of Sweden]]. [[Swedish Pomerania]], as it was then called, remained part of the Swedish kingdom until 1815,<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom II|year=1881|language=pl|location=Warszawa|page=883}}</ref> when it became part of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] as the [[Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)|Province of Pomerania]]. In 1871, it devolved to Germany.

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 [[Swedish-Polish War]] and the [[Swedish-Brandenburg War]] both involved the nominally Swedish town of Greifswald. [[Assault on Greifswald|In 1659]] and 1678, Brandenburgian troops bombarded the town. The first bombardment hit mainly the northeast part of town, wrecking 16 houses. The second bombardment leveled 30 houses and damaged hundreds more all over the city. Cannonballs of this second bombardment can still be seen in the walls of St Mary's Church.

During the [[Great Northern War]] (1700–1721, Greifswald was compelled to house soldiers. While [[Siege of Stralsund (1711–1715)|besieging neighboring Stralsund]], [[Tsardom of Russia|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.<ref>Felix Schönrock's studies in: Frank Braun, Stefan Kroll, ''Städtesystem und Urbanisierung im Ostseeraum in der frühen Neuzeit: Wirtschaft, Baukultur und historische Informationssysteme: Beiträge des wissenschaftlichen Kolloquiums in Wismar vom 4. Und 5. September 2003'', 2004, pp.184ff, {{ISBN|3-8258-7396-X}}, 9783825873967, [https://books.google.com/books?id=kwOzlHo7h0QC&dq=geschichte+pommern&pg=PA88]</ref>

In 1763, [[Greifswald Botanic Garden]] was founded.

{{Further|Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)|Mecklenburg-Vorpommern}}

{{Panorama
|image   = File:Greifswald Panorama view.jpg
|height  = 250px
|alt     = The central market square (''Marktplatz'')
|caption = The central market square (''Marktplatz'')
}}

===1815 – ''today'': Germany===

[[File:Wiesen bei Greifswald (1821-1822) - Caspar David Friedrich (Hamburger Kunsthalle).jpg|thumb|[[Caspar David Friedrich]] (1774–1840) depicted his hometown in several paintings; this is ''Wiesen bei Greifswald'' (''Meadows near Greifswald''), 1820.]]
[[File:Frau am Fischerbrunnen, Greifswald.jpg|thumb|Woman at the 'fishers well', by [[Jo Jastram]] in the 20th century]]
During the 19th century, Greifswald attracted many Polish students.<ref>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</ref> After [[Breslau]] (now [[Wrocław]], Poland) and Berlin, Greifswald hosted the third-largest group of Polish students in Germany.<ref>Die Universität Greifswald in der Bildungslandschaft des Ostseeraums, page 372 [[Dirk Alvermann]], [[Nils Jörn]], Jens E. Olesen</ref>

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, in May 1940, the Stalag II-C [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|prisoner-of-war camp]] was relocated to Greifswald from [[Dobiegniew]], and it housed [[French prisoners of war in World War II|French]], Belgian, Serbian and Soviet POWs with many sent to [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labor]] detachments in the region.<ref name=ushm>{{cite book|last1=Megargee|first1=Geoffrey P.|last2=Overmans|first2=Rüdiger|last3=Vogt|first3=Wolfgang|year=2022|title=The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV|publisher=Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|page=397|isbn=978-0-253-06089-1}}</ref> In the spring of 1945, the camp was evacuated to the west.<ref name=ushm/> 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 [[German Democratic Republic]] (DDR). During this time, most historical buildings in the medieval parts of the city were neglected and a number of old buildings were pulled down. The population increased significantly, because of the construction of a nominal 1760&nbsp;MW [[Soviet]]-made [[nuclear power plant]] in [[Lubmin]], which was closed in the early 1990s. New suburbs were erected in the monolithic industrial socialist style (''see [[Plattenbau]]''). They still house most of the city's population.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} These new suburbs were placed east and southeast of central Greifswald, shifting the former town center to the northwestern edge of the modern town.

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 [[suburbanisation]]. However, the number of students quadrupled from 3,000 in 1990 to more than 11,000 in 2007 and the university employs 5,000 people; nearly one in three people in Greifswald are linked in some way to higher education.

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 (1815–1945)|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 {{Ill|Fiscal Court Mecklenburg-Vorpommern|de|Finanzgericht Mecklenburg-Vorpommern}} (''[[Fiscal Court (Germany)|Finanzgericht]]'')