Attractions

  • Botanical garden

    Address:
    Hamburger Str. 28, 18069 Rostock, Germany .

    The Botanical Garden houses approximately 7,000 cultivated plant species. Their preservation and expansion is primarily ensured through seed and plant exchanges with other botanical gardens. The greenhouses in the original Botanical Garden site on Doberaner Straße were still in use until 2009, but have been closed to the public in recent years due to their poor condition. In 2009, the new Loki Schmidt Greenhouses, with 400 m² of space and tropical crops, were inaugurated on the Hamburger Straße site.

  • Rostock Zoo

    Address:
    Barnstorfer Ring 1, 18059 Rostock-Ortsamt 5, Germany .

    Rostock Zoo, which looks back on a 120-year tradition, is home to around 4,500 animals from 450 different species and a spacious, attractively landscaped park. The animal diversity ranges from majestic gorillas and polar bears to lively meerkats and tiny leaf-cutter ants. An exciting journey of discovery awaits you in the Darwineum. In the Polarium, you have the opportunity to explore a living museum on a total area of ​​12,500 square meters, offering plenty of space for penguins, polar bears, and numerous marine inhabitants of the North and South Poles. In the Dahlia House, zoo visitors can look forward to a colorful spectacle.

  • Rostock city harbor

    Address:
    Warnowufer, 18057 Rostock, Germany .

    The city harbor is one of Rostock's must-see attractions. It was built around 800 years ago – almost contemporaneously with the founding of the Hanseatic city. Even in the Middle Ages, Rostock's trade was focused on seafaring. The area was expanded in 1910. Today, the port is one of the most efficient and modern ports in the southern Baltic Sea. Rostock's city harbor, located on the banks of the Warnow River, features a popular promenade with restaurants, shops, and large warehouses. The waters in the harbor area are also said to be a good fishing spot in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

  • Fountain of joy

    Address:
    Kröpeliner Str. 8-10, 18055 Rostock, Germany .

    A particularly impressive photo opportunity and a striking water feature await you on Rostock's University Square. In front of an elegant building is the Fountain of Joy, created by Rostock artists Reinhard Dietrich and Jo Jastram. This walk-in fountain on Kröpeliner Straße, equipped with life-size bronze sculptures, 18 fountains, and 26 bubbling springs, was inaugurated in June 1980. You can admire the fascinating view from a curved, continuous bench.

  • Stasi Prison Memorial

    Address:
    Grüner Weg 5, 18055 Rostock, Germany .

    Stasi Prison Memorial: The Ministry for State Security (MfS) remand prison in the Rostock district was built towards the end of the 1950s. It was located on the grounds of the MfS district administration, inaccessible to outsiders. The first inmates were taken into pretrial detention in 1960. By 1989, the State Security Service had arrested approximately 4,900 men and women there, predominantly for political reasons. The reasons included the offenses of "incitement," "establishing subversive contacts," and, increasingly, "attempted escape from the republic."
    The MfS remand prison had approximately 50 cells spread over three floors. Inmates were forced to spend an average of five to six months in pretrial detention, subjected to constant interrogation and severe isolation, until they were formally sentenced by a court and transferred to a correctional facility.

  • Main building of the university

    Address:
    Universitätsplatz 1, 18055 Rostock, Germany .

    In 1867, the university's main building was constructed, featuring magnificent terracotta decorations in the Italian Renaissance style. The university itself was founded in 1419, making the University of Rostock one of the oldest educational institutions in Northern Europe and also one of the ten oldest universities in Germany.
    The University of Rostock's original faculties included medicine, theology, law, and philosophy. These are symbolically depicted on four pillars on the front facade. Currently, the university offers nine different faculties, encompassing over 150 degree programs and partial degree programs, and has approximately 13,000 enrolled students.
    Among the most prominent figures who have studied at the university since its founding are the astronomer Tycho Brahe, the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, and writers such as Erich Kästner, Arnold Zweig, and Fritz Reuter.
    The Zoological Institute of the University of Rostock is located in the yellow building to the left of the main building. Due to its extensive collection of animals, including the famous Rostock stork, a visit is highly recommended.