The Ryck is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

From its source near Bartmannshagen, part of the Süderholz

Süderholz

Süderholz is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It was created as a merger from several municipalities on 1 January 1999 and comprises the following villages:...

 community northeast of Grimmen

Grimmen

Grimmen is the capital of Vorpommern-Rügen, a district in the Bundesland Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-Geography:Grimmen is located in southeastern Nordvorpommern on the banks of the river Trebel, about 30 km south of Stralsund and 30 km west of Greifswald. The town is connected to...

, the Ryck flows for about 28 km to the east, reaching Greifswald

Greifswald

Greifswald , officially, the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald is a town in northeastern Germany. It is situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at an equal distance of about from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. The town borders the Baltic Sea, and is crossed...

 shortly before its mouth. The larger part of the river outside Greifswald is also referred to as Ryckgraben. In Greifswald, the Ryck provided both the medieval Hanseatic port and natural salt evaporation ponds, as due to the low elevation, hypersaline water of the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 is driven into the river by the wind, flooding the lower meadows on the Ryck's northern bank.

In the High Middle Ages

High Middle Ages

The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....

, the Ryck marked the southern border of the Principality of Rügen and the northern border of the County of Gützkow

County of Gützkow

The County of Gützkow was a part of the Duchy of Pomerania during the High Middle Ages , named after the central town of Gützkow and stretching roughly from the Peene River in the South to the Ryck River in the North. It emerged from the earlier Liutician Principality of Gützkow , that was turned...

. West of Greifswald, the Ryck fed the Boltenhägener Teich, a medieval lake.

The old Hanseatic port in Greifswald is now an open-air ship museum.