Riems

Riems is a small island in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, located in the coastal waters of the Bay of Greifswald. It is best known as the principal site of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Germany’s federal research institute for animal health.

The island’s most prominent feature is the scientific campus and laboratory complex of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut. There are no widely known tourist facilities on the island; the built environment is dominated by research buildings and support infrastructure.

The Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut was established in the early 20th century and later concentrated major animal health research activities on Riems. Over the decades the site developed high-containment laboratory capacity for veterinary virology and related fields.

Riems sits in the littoral waters off Germany’s Baltic coast in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, near the city of Greifswald. The island is small and lies within the Bay of Greifswald region.

• Research centre: Home to Germany's national institute for animal health and virology research, with high-biocontainment laboratories on the island.
• Access: Public access to laboratory areas is restricted because of biosafety and biosecurity measures.

What to See #

• Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI): A federal research campus hosting the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Germany's federal research institute for animal health, with laboratory and animal research facilities established in the early 20th century.