Rostock, Germany

Rostock is the largest city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, with around 210,000 residents living on the Warnow River at the Baltic Sea, founded in 1218. Its Hanseatic Old Town still retains three medieval town wall gates: the 54-meter Kröpeliner Tor from 1230, the 1280 Steintor, and the 1400 Kuhtor, the oldest surviving gate. The 1265 Brick Gothic Saint Mary's Church houses a 1472 astronomical clock, while the 1419 University of Rostock ranks as the oldest university in the Baltic region. Twelve kilometers north, the port of Warnemünde operates Germany's largest cruise terminal, and each August the Hanse Sail draws about 1.5 million visitors to the waterfront.