Many German cities are centered around bodies of water which are most often rivers. The water was really important to German cities in the past.
Like many German cities, Greifswald is located on a river. The river here is called the Ryck River. The river was really important to Greifswald throughout the city's history. Greifswald is also special because it is very near the Ostsee (ost-say) also known as the Baltic Sea in English. Both of these bodies of water have long been very important to Greifswald in terms of its development as a fishing port and trading hub.
Throughout history, people used the Ryck River to transport goods from the Baltic Sea into the city and even farther into Germany. The Ryck River is historically important for transporting bricks. Now people don't use the river to transport items as much because there are now cars and trains to do this work. People now use the Ryck River for sailing and other fun activities instead of for trading purposes. If you travel through Wieck to the sea, you can see lots of people taking sailboat rides or swimming in the water--when the weather is nice enough, of course!
