Greetsiel is a district of the municipality of Krummhörn in the Aurich district in Lower Saxony.
The Sielort is located on the Leybucht in western East Frisia and has 1,450 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2012). Greetsiel looks back on over 650 years of history. The rise of the Cirksena family began in this place, a family of chieftains who were the counts and princes of East Frisia from 1464 to 1744.
Greetsiel is located directly on the Leybucht, a small bay on the East Frisian west coast. Large parts of the bay were gradually diked, so that Greetsiel is now the only port on the Leybucht. Greetsiel also includes the neighboring town of Hauen and the Akkens residential area on a terp, both of which are located west of the village.
The Leybuchthörn was completed in the 1990s. This structure extends as a headland into the Wadden Sea. Within the Leybuchthörn there is a storage basin and the access from the North Sea to Greetsiel harbor. There is a lock between the harbor and the open sea. Since the construction was completed, Greetsiel harbor has been accessible regardless of the tide.
The distance to the nearest cities Emden and Norden is 15 to 20 kilometers to the north and southwest respectively. The Krummhörn capital Pewsum is 7.2 kilometers to the south.
To the west of Greetsiel is the Leyhörn nature reserve, which is part of the EU Krummhörn bird sanctuary. The protected area is 646 hectares in size and, in addition to the water and mud areas, includes extensive reedbeds, tall herbaceous areas and grassland areas. The place also borders on the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park.
Source: Wikipedia