University of Greifswald

The University of Greifswald was founded on 17 October 1456 with the approval of the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope. This was possible due to the great commitment of Greifswald's lord mayor, Heinrich Rubenow, who was also to become the university's first rector, with the support of Duke Wartislaw IX of Pomerania and Bishop Henning Iven of the local St Nicolas' Cathedral. The founding took place in the local cathedral, which was later remodeled by Caspar David Friedrich and his brother and can still be visited today. The founding of the university was made possible by a decree that restricted teaching activity at the University of Rostock (founded 1419). Several professors left Rostock for Greifswald to continue their work there, where Heinrich Rubenow took the chance of establishing his own university. Originally, the university consisted of the four traditional divisions: Theology, Philosophy, Medicine and Law.

In the late Middle Ages the University of Greifswald was one of the most important centers of science in the Duchy of Pomerania. The rest of Pomeranian schools – including those in Szczecin and Stargard – did not have the university status in this time. Nowadays in Germany, there are only three older universities by count of the years of existence: the University of Heidelberg (established 1386), the University of Leipzig (1409), and the University of Rostock (1419).