Giessen
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the German state () of
Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...
, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 university students. The name comes from ''Giezzen'', as it was first referred to in 1197, which refers to the position of the town between several rivers, lakes and streams. The largest river in Giessen is the Lahn, which divides the town in two parts (west and east), roughly north of
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
. Giessen is also home to the University of Giessen. In 1969, the town hosted the ninth '' Hessentag'' state festival.


History

Giessen came into being as a moated castle in 1152 built by Count Wilhelm von Gleiberg, although the history of the community in the northeast and in today's suburb called "Wieseck" dates back to 775. The town became part of Hesse-Marburg in 1567, passing to Hesse-Darmstadt in 1604. The University of Giessen was founded in 1607. Giessen was included within the
Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name ...
created in 1806 during the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
. After the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, it was part of the
People's State of Hesse The People's State of Hesse () was one of the constituent states of Weimar Republic, Germany from 1918 to 1945, as the successor to the Grand Duchy of Hesse () after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I, on the territory of the curren ...
. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, a subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp was in the Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Licher Straße. Heavy bombing destroyed about 75 percent of Giessen in 1944, including most of the town's historic buildings. It became part of the modern state of Hesse after the war. In 1977, Giessen was merged with the neighbouring city Wetzlar to form the new city of Lahn. However, this attempt to reorganize the administration was reversed in 1979. It was part of the Darmstadt region (regierungsbezirk) between 1945 and 1981, until the Giessen (region) was founded on 1 January 1981. A U.S. military base was located in Giessen after the Second World War. The U.S. Army Garrison of Gießen had a population of up to 10,000 American soldiers and their families. Gießen was also the site of the central US army depot for all of Europe as well as the site of a special ammunition depot. The base is a converted German Army Air Field which is reflected in some of the buildings including the housing area. A theatre, known as the Keller Theatre, is a converted German Army Officers' Club. As of 28 September 2007, the Giessen Depot and all other U.S. facilities in the greater Giessen area were returned to local German authorities. The former U.S. Army buildings were used to house refugees after the large influx of 2016. After the war, the city was twinned with
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
, UK.


International relations

Giessen is twinned with:


Points of interest

* Akademischer Forstgarten Gießen, botanical gardens * Botanischer Garten Gießen, established in 1609, is the oldest
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
in Germany still at its original location. * Old Cemetery, (German: Alter Friedhof), is the resting place of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen and Hugo von Ritgen. * Liebig-Museum was established in 1920 to honor the chemist Justus von Liebig. * Mathematikum was established in 2002, offering a wide variety of mathematical hands-on exhibits. * University of Giessen * Rubber Island is a residential area near the Lahn River.


Sport

Giessen is home to the
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
club Giessen 46ers, five-time champion of the
Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...
. Its home games take place at the Sporthalle Gießen-Ost. Also, Giessen has an American football team called Giessen Golden Dragons.


Religion

The
Catholic Scouts of Europe The Katholische Pfadfinderschaft Europas (KPE; roughly ''Catholic Guides and Scouts of Europe'') is a German Catholic Church, Catholic Scouting organization with 2,500 members. It is part of the International Union of Guides and Scouts of Europe. ...
were founded in Giessen in 1975.


Gallery

File:Marktplatz in Giessen (gezeichnet von P. Weber).jpg, Historical drawing of the marketplace, 1844 File:Akademischer Forstgarten Giessen Plan.jpeg, Historical drawing of the Akademischer Forstgarten Gießen, 1877 File:Botanical garden Giessen Germany 01.jpg, Botanical garden Gießen File:2005-08 Gießen - Theater.jpg, Theater Gießen File:Giessen-arch1.jpg, Architecture in Gießen File:Denkmal Röntgen (Gießen) 01.JPG, Röntgen memorial File:PSM V74 D619 Liebig laboratory at giessen.png, Liebig laboratory, 1909 File:Gießen ElephantLoo766.jpg, Multiway pedestrian bridge "Elefantenklo" ("Elephant loo")


Notable people

* Samuel Adler (1809–1891), noted rabbi in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, attended the University of Giessen * Werner A. Baum (1923–1999), meteorologist and college administrator * Annika Beck (born 1994), professional tennis player * Stefan Bellof (1957–1985),
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
and Sportscar driver, who was killed during a race held in Spa-Francorchamps * Christa Blanke (born 1948), theologist, founder of Animals' Angels e.V. * Volker Bouffier (born 1951), politician (CDU) * Helge Braun (born 1972), politician (CDU) * Georg Büchner (1813–1837) studied two years at the University of Gießen * Daniel Davari (born 1988), Iranian footballer. *
Ernst Dieffenbach Johann Karl Ernst Dieffenbach (27 January 1811 – 1 October 1855), also known as Ernest Dieffenbach, was a German physician, geologist and naturalist, the first trained scientist to live and work in New Zealand, where he travelled widely under th ...
, born Johann Karl Ernst Dieffenbach (1811–1855), German physician, geologist and naturalist * Georg Christian Dieffenbach (1822–1901), German poet and theologian * Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach (1792–1847), German surgeon * Eduard Dingeldey (1886-1942), lawyer and politician * Walter Dornberger (1895–1980), rocket scientist * Paul Karl Ludwig Drude (1863–1906)
physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
specializing in
optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...
* Peter Düttmann (1923–2001), Luftwaffe Ace * Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (1635–1709), Electress Palatine * Charles Friedek (born 1971), triple jumper, gold medallist at the
1999 World Championships in Athletics The 7th World Championships in Athletics, a World Athletic Championships event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla, Seville, Spain, between the Augus ...
* Jesko Friedrich (born 1974), comedy television actor and writer * Adolph Hansen (1851–1920), botanist and professor at University of Giessen * Paul Gordan (1837–1912), mathematician, known for work in invariant theory * Fritz Pfeffer (1889–1944), dentist, hid in the Anne Frank House during WWII * Fritz Heichelheim (1901–1968), economic historian * August Wilhelm von Hofmann (1818–1892), chemist * Juli, rock band * Friedrich Kellner (1885–1970), Chief Regional Auditor in Giessen 1948–1950, and Chief Justice Inspector of Laubach, where he wrote his secret WWII diary. The Holocaust Research Unit of Justus Liebig University of Giessen has established the Kellner Project * Karl Kling (1910–2003), racing driver and head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport * Jonathan Koch (born 1985), rower * Harald Lesch (born 1960), physicist, astronomer, natural philosopher, author, television presenter, professor of physics * Chris Liebing (born 1968) techno/electronic music producer and DJ * Justus von Liebig (1803–1873), chemist, professor. The official name of the University of Giessen is now ''Justus Liebig University'' * Wilhelm Liebknecht (1826–1900), founder of the
Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...
* Sigmund Livingston (1872–1946), American lawyer, founder and first president of the Anti-Defamation League * Christopher Ludwick (1720–1801) Baker General for the American Revolutionary War Army – Philadelphia * Alfred Milner (1854–1925), British statesman * Demis Nikolaidis (born 1973), Greek footballer * James J. O'Donnell (born 1950), American scholar and university administrator, born in Giessen * Albert Osswald (1919–1996), politician * Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845–1923), physicist, professor of physics from 1879 until 1888 at the University of Giessen. He was buried at the "Alte Friedhof", where his tomb can still be found * Johann Georg Rosenmüller (1736–1815), professor of theology at the university * Jochen Schropp (born 1978), German actor and television entertainer *
Til Schweiger Tilman Valentin Schweiger (; born 19 December 1963) is a German actor and filmmaker. He became known in the 1990s for films such as '' Manta, Manta'', '' Der bewegte Mann'' and '' Knockin' on Heaven's Door''. He went on to star in international ...
(born 1968), actor, director and producer. Grew up, went to school and started studying in Giessen * Wilhelm Sievers (1860–1921), geographer, explorer, professor at the university * Henrietta Skelton (1839/1842–1900), social reformer, writer, organizer, lecturer * Dieter Strack, retired German professional basketball player * Julian Theobald (born 1984), racing driver * Tabea Waßmuth (born 1996), footballer * Marie Wittich (1868–1931), opera singer * Willy Zschietzschmann (1900–1976), Classical archeologist and author


Education

* MBML: The International Graduate Programme "Molecular Biology and Medicine of the Lung" of the University of Giessen Lung Center * University hospital Giessen und Marburg * Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences * University of Giessen


Manisch

Manisch is a dialect of rotwelsch spoken in and around Giessen by people in lower income neighbourhoods, some of which are known as "Eulenkopf", "Gummiinsel", "Heyerweg" and "Margaretenhütte". Approximately 700–750 residents spoke the dialect fluently as of 1976.Hans-Günter Lerch, "Tschü lowi...Das Manische in Gießen", 1976/2005, pages 16-22. Although the dialect still influences the Giessen
vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...
, it is nearly extinct in terms of fluent speakers.


Geography


Climate

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
subtype for this climate is " Cfb". (Marine West Coast Climate).


See also

* Giessen station * Giessen 46ers — Basketball club * Giessen emigration society — founded 1833


References

;Notes


External links

*
City Services Giessen (SWG)

Express Magazine – Current events and news from Giessen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giessen