Giessen

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Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (German pronunciation: [ˈɡiːsn̩]), is a town in the German federal state (Bundesland) of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen
Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 86,000, with roughly 24,000 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.[citation needed] The largest river in Giessen
Giessen is the Lahn, which divides the town in two parts (west and east), roughly 50 kilometres (31 miles) north of Frankfurt am Main. In 1969, the town hosted the ninth Hessentag
Hessentag state festival.

Contents

1 History 2 International relations

2.1 Twin towns — sister cities

3 Points of interest 4 Sport 5 Gallery 6 Notable people 7 Education 8 Manisch 9 Geography

9.1 Climate

10 See also 11 References 12 External links

History[edit] Giessen
Giessen came into being as a moated castle in 1152 built by Count Wilhelm von Gleiberg,[2] 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
Hesse-Marburg in 1567, passing to Hesse-Darmstadt in 1604. The University of Giessen
University of Giessen was founded in 1607. Giessen
Giessen was included within the Grand Duchy of Hesse
Hesse created in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. After the First World War, it was part of the People's State of Hesse. During the Second World War, a subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp was located in the Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Licher Straße.[3][4][5] Heavy bombing destroyed about 75% of Gießen in 1944, including most of the town's historic buildings. It became part of the modern state of Hesse
Hesse after the war. In 1977, Giessen
Giessen was merged with the neighbouring city Wetzlar
Wetzlar to form the new city of Lahn. However, this attempt to reorganize the administration was reversed in 1979. It was bounded to Darmstadt (region) between 1945 and 1981 until Giessen (region)
Giessen (region) was founded on 1 January 1981. An American military base was located in Giessen
Giessen after the Second World War. The U.S. Army Garrison of Gießen had a population of 500 Americans. 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
Giessen Depot and all other communities in the greater Giessen
Giessen area were turned back over to the local German authorities. After the war, the city was twinned with Winchester, UK.[6]

Largest groups of foreign residents

Nationality Population (2011)

Turkey 1,922

Greece 569

Italy 425

International relations[edit] See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany Twin towns — sister cities[edit] Giessen
Giessen is twinned with:[7]

Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
Czech Republic (since 1990) Gödöllő, Hungary
Hungary (since 1988) Netanya, Israel
Israel (since 1978)[8] Ferrara, Italy
Italy (since 1998)

San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
Nicaragua (since 1986) Winchester, United Kingdom
United Kingdom (since 1962)[9] Waterloo, Iowa, United States
United States (since 1981) Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
China (since 2011)

Points of interest[edit]

Akademischer Forstgarten Gießen, botanical gardens Botanischer Garten Gießen, established in 1609, is the oldest botanical garden in Germany
Germany still at its original location. Old Cemetery, (German: Alter Friedhof), is the resting place of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen and Hugo von Ritgen. Liebig-Museum was established in 1920 to honor the chemist Justus von Liebig. Mathematikum
Mathematikum was established in 2002, offering a huge variety of mathematical hands-on exhibits. University of Giessen Rubber Island
Rubber Island is a residential area near the Lahn
Lahn River.

Sport[edit] Giessen
Giessen is home to the basketball club Giessen
Giessen 46ers, five-time champion of the Basketball
Basketball Bundesliga. Its home games take place at the Sporthalle Gießen-Ost. Also, Giessen
Giessen has an American football team called Giessen
Giessen Golden Dragons. Gallery[edit]

Historical drawing of the marketplace, 1844

Historical drawing of the Akademischer Forstgarten Gießen, 1877

Botanical garden
Botanical garden Gießen

Theater Gießen

Architecture in Gießen

Röntgen memorial

Liebig laboratory, 1909

Multiway pedestrian bridge "Elephant loo"

Notable people[edit]

Samuel Adler (1809–1891), a noted rabbi in the United States, attended the University of Giessen[10] Annika Beck
Annika Beck (b. 1994), professional tennis player Stefan Bellof
Stefan Bellof (1957–1985), Formula One
Formula One and Sportscar driver, who was killed during a race held in Spa-Francorchamps Christa Blanke
Christa Blanke (b. 1948), theologist, founder of Animals' Angels e.V. Georg Büchner
Georg Büchner (1813–1837) studied two years at the University of Gießen Daniel Davari
Daniel Davari (b. 1988), Iranian footballer. Walter Dornberger
Walter Dornberger (1895–1980), rocket scientist Peter Düttmann
Peter Düttmann (1923-2001), Luftwaffe Ace Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (1635–1709), Electress Palatine, ancestress of most of today's royals Charles Friedek (b. 1971), triple jumper, gold medallist at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics Adolph Hansen (1851–1920), botanist and professor at University of Giessen Fritz Heichelheim (1901–1968), economic historian Juli, rock band Friedrich Kellner
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
University of Giessen has established the Kellner Project Karl Kling
Karl Kling (1910-2003), Racing driver and head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Jonathan Koch (b. 1985), rower Chris Liebing
Chris Liebing (b. 1968) techno/electronic music producer and DJ Justus von Liebig
Justus von Liebig (1803–1873), chemist, professor. The official name of the University of Giessen
University of Giessen is now Justus Liebig University Wilhelm Liebknecht
Wilhelm Liebknecht (1826–1900), founder of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, was born on March 29, 1826 in Giessen 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 Wangari Maathai, (1940-2011), Nobel Laureate 2004 Alfred Milner
Alfred Milner (1854–1925), British statesman Demis Nikolaidis (b. 1973), Greek footballer James J. O'Donnell
James J. O'Donnell (b. 1950), American scholar and University administrator, born in Giessen Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
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
Johann Georg Rosenmüller (1736–1815), professor of theology at the university Til Schweiger
Til Schweiger (b. 1968), actor, director and producer. Grew up, went to school and started studying in Giessen Wilhelm Sievers
Wilhelm Sievers (1860–1921), geographer, explorer, professor at the university Marie Wittich
Marie Wittich (1868–1931), opera singer Willy Zschietzschmann (b. 1900), Classical archeologist and author

Ernst Dieffenbach, born Johann Karl Ernst Dieffenbach (27 January 1811 – 1 October 1855), German physician, geologist and naturalist Georg Christian Dieffenbach (1822-1901), German poet and theologian Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach (1792–1847), German surgeon Joseph Dieffenbach (1796–1863), German gardener

Education[edit]

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

Manisch[edit] Manisch is a dialect of rotwelsch spoken in and around Giessen
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.[11] Although the dialect still influences the Giessen vernacular, it is nearly extinct in terms of fluent speakers. Geography[edit] Climate[edit] Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb". (Marine West Coast Climate).

Climate data for Giessen

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Average high °C (°F) 3 (37) 4 (40) 8 (47) 13 (56) 18 (65) 21 (70) 23 (73) 22 (71) 18 (65) 12 (54) 7 (44) 3 (38) 13 (55)

Average low °C (°F) −2 (28) −2 (29) 1 (33) 3 (38) 8 (46) 11 (51) 13 (55) 12 (53) 9 (48) 5 (41) 2 (35) −1 (30) 5 (41)

Average precipitation mm (inches) 46 (1.8) 36 (1.4) 36 (1.4) 41 (1.6) 50 (2) 61 (2.4) 74 (2.9) 61 (2.4) 48 (1.9) 56 (2.2) 46 (1.8) 50 (2) 602 (23.7)

Source: Weatherbase [12]