Editing Greifswald (section)

===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'')
}}