Top 8 Lakes around Levenhagen

The Koos Island, Koos Lake and Wampener Riff nature reserve is a 1560 hectare nature reserve five kilometers north of the city of Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Shallow water zones, wind-blown mudflats and grazed coastal flood marshes provide an important habitat for numerous coastal birds. The island of Koos itself and the Karrendorfer/Kooser meadows are not allowed to be entered. Source https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturschutzgebiet_Insel_Koos,_Kooser_See_und_Wampener_Riff

The Söllkensee was created in the 19th century by peat extraction in "Küsterbäcks Moor", a meltwater channel of the Greifswald terminal moraine. Today it is a natural monument and spawning ground for common toads and moor frogs. In the north-eastern part, the new siltation process is clearly visible. A cotton grass peat bog has formed here, which is partly forested with downy birches.

The new campus of Greifswald University with the institutes for natural sciences and medicine is located at Berthold-Beitz-Platz. The university hospital with its beautifully landscaped pond is also located near the square.

The Söllkensee is not written "Sölkensee" but "Söllkensee". The Söllkensee is a bog in the Helmshagener Forest. The Söllkensee was created in the 19th century by peat extraction in "Küsterbäcks Moor", a meltwater channel of the Greifswald terminal moraine. Today it is a natural monument and spawning ground for common toads and moor frogs. In the north-eastern part, the new siltation process is clearly visible. A cotton grass peat bog has formed here, which is partly forested with downy birches (bot.: sheath cotton grass peat moss community, Eriophoro-Sphagnetum recurvi). The floating pondweed (Potamogeton natans) can be discovered in the open water area. The name of the Söllkensee is probably derived from the word "Soll", which describes Ice Age dead ice holes in the north German lowlands and was used here in a somewhat broader sense for a small body of water. Originally, the locals called the lake "dat Sülkenmuur" and at the end of the 19th century it developed into an attraction for those seeking relaxation, who traveled especially with the small train from Greifswald. According to legend, an old privy councilor from Charlottenburg walked here. Impressed by the place, he suggested to the owner of the inn in Potthagen that they set up signposts from the village to the lake and thus show the excursionists the beauty of the area. However, according to the legend, the old privy councilor found the name “Sülkenmuur” too daunting and boggy. And so the “Sülkenmuur” became the Sölkensee. Both names – Sölkensee and Söllkensee – are common today. North of the Söllkensee is the Plagens lime tree. It is said that the forest warden Plagens planted this tree in 1933 and built a bench next to it to enjoy his retirement here. Link: https://weithagen.info/naturweit/soellkensee/

The Sölkesee is a natural monument and spawning ground for common toads and moor frogs. The fish species found at the Sölkensee include eels, perch, pike, tench, bream, roach, rudd and crucian carp.

For a long time, the Ryck was the main artery of the city of Greifswald. Greifswald had belonged to the Hanseatic League since 1310, and the port was a popular transhipment point, especially for ships from Scandinavia and Russia. The ships came from the Vorhafen in Wyk via the Ryck to the port of Greifswald, but it was often a very tedious affair. Because of the shallow fairway, ships often had to be lightened, and the westerly winds that prevailed here made it difficult to sail to the port. So the sailing ships and also the first machine-driven ships were towed from the outer harbor in Wyk to the port of Greifswald. Shipping in Greifswald flourished in the mid-19th century. The Ryck's fairway was dredged and with the demolition of the fortifications more space was created for the port. At that time, the Greifswald merchant fleet consisted of up to 50 seagoing ships, mostly brigs, the larger ones sailed to the Black Sea, to America, the East Indies and China. However, the conditions were so unfavorable that in the 19th century the port of Greifswald lost its importance, the port developed into an inland port, into which only smaller cargo ships used inland traffic (summarized by the information boards along the Ryck)

The city's chill-out zone

Northeast of Greifswald's old town, on the Ryck river, is the museum harbor. The non-profit association Museumshafen Greifswald e.V. was founded in February 1991 and has set itself the task of developing and maintaining the harbour.