Greifswald

Greifswald ( ), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (in German Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald) is a town in northeastern Germany. It is situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at an equal distance of about 250 kilometres (160 mi) from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. The town borders the Baltic Sea, and is crossed by a small river, the Ryck. It is also located near Germany's two largest islands, Rügen and Usedom as well as near three of the country's 14 national parks. A former district-free town, it is the capital of the new district of Vorpommern-Greifswald since the September 2011 district reforms.