Greifswald

Digital Passport

Flag

Greifswald

Name

Greifswald

Nomenclature and Geography

Category: City / Municipality

Summary

About the place: Greifswald is a historic university and Hanseatic city in northeastern Germany, located in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on the Ryck River near the Baltic Sea.

Flag Description: The flag consists of six horizontal stripes in the order (from top to bottom): narrow white, red, broad white, red, narrow white, and red (with an approximate stripe ratio of 1:2:7:2:1:1 and an overall aspect ratio of 7:4). Centered in the broad middle white stripe is a red griffin with golden/yellow claws and beak, standing on a brown tree branch with green leaves.

Symbolism: The red griffin (Pomeranian griffin) standing on a tree branch is a canting symbol representing the city's name Greifswald ('Greif' = griffin, 'Wald' = forest). Red and white represent the traditional colors of the Hanseatic League and Pomerania.

Statistics

Area

50.81 km²

Population

60,000

Location