Gisen

Giesen is located on the bend of the Lahn River, where it changes direction from south to west, between the cities of Wetzlar (12 km lower along the Lahn) and Marburg (30 km higher along the Lahn). To the south-west of Giessen, the Taunus mountain range begins, and to the east - Vogelsberg .

Neighboring communities:

• Heuchelheim ( German: Heuchelheim )
• Wettenberg ( German: Wettenberg )
• Lollar ( German: Lollar )
• Staufenberg ( German: Staufenberg )
• Buzek ( German: Buseck )
• Fernwald ( German: Fernwald )
• Polheim ( German: Pohlheim )
• Linden ( German: Linden )
• Hüttenberg ( German: Hüttenberg ) (Lahn-Dill-Kreis)
• Wetzlar ( German: Wetzlar ) (Lahn-Dill-Kreis).

Giesen is divided into 6 urban areas:

• Central District ( German: Kernstadt )
• Visek ( German: Wieseck )
• Kleinlinden ( German: Kleinlinden )
• Allendorf an der Lahn ( German: Allendorf / Lahn )
• Rödgen ( German: Rödgen )
• Lutzenellinden ( German: Lützellinden )

Beginning of the city

In 1152, Wilhelm von Gleiberg ( German: Wilhelm von Gleiberg ) founded the Giessen Castle 5 kilometers from his castle Gleiberg and moved there. The first written mention of the new settlement dates back to 1197. In 1248, Giessen became a city and in 1264 passed to the Landgrafism of Hesse . In 1442, Giessen received the right to free trade (the creation of an urban market), which was of great importance in the Middle Ages for the development of the urban economy.

Around 1535, Landgrave Philip I the Magnanimous ordered the fortification of the city. When dividing the Hessian Landgrafism in 1567, Giessen switched to the Hesse-Marburg Landgrafism, and in 1604 to the Hesse-Darmstadt Landgrafism.

University

On May 19, 1607, Ludwig University ( German Ludwigsuniversität ) was founded, and two years later the Giesen Botanical Garden - the oldest botanical garden in Germany.

XVII — XVIII centuries

Plague 1634–35 significantly reduced the population.

During the warrior in the XVIII century Gisen repeatedly fell into the hands of the conquerors.

XIX century

In 1803, Giessen became the capital of the province of Obergessen in the Grand Duchy of Hesse . In subsequent years, city fortifications were improved.

From 1824 to 1852, Justus Liebig taught at the University of Giessen .

In 1849, with the commissioning of the Frankfurt-Kassel branch, Giessen was connected to the German railway network. In 1862, a branch was added to Cologne , and two years later the Koblenz - Wetzlar branch was extended to Giessen.

In 1855, a voluntary fire department was founded.

In 1870, the railway branch to Fulda came into operation, and in 1872 to Gelnhausen .

In 1879-1888 Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen taught at the University of Giessen .

In 1893, the Evangelical Church of Johannes ( German: Johanneskirche ) was opened - the largest church in the city to date.

XX century

In 1907, the city theater opened.

Until 1942, more than 1,000 Jews were deported to Nazi camps.

In the Middle Ages Giesen totaled from several hundred to several thousand inhabitants. The population grew slowly as a result of frequent wars, epidemics and famine, as, for example, during the plague in 1634-1635. With the beginning of industrialization in the 19th century, population growth accelerated.

During World War II, the population decreased significantly from 47,000 in 1939 to 25,000 in 1945.

The population growth of up to 78,000 in 1971 is due to the annexation of the neighboring communities of Allendorf an der Lahn and Redgen. In 1977, the cities of Giessen, Wetzlar and 14 neighboring communities were united in one city called Lahn (named after the river) with a population of 155,000, but it lasted only until August 1, 1979 and was again divided due to numerous protests.

Since 1963, the population of Giessen has not practically dropped below 70,000.

Monthly average temperature ^[6] , ° C:

Monthly average precipitation ^[6] , mm:

The municipal elections of March 26, 2006 showed the following results:

Since 2001, the ruling coalition of the CDU, FDP and Free Voters has lost some of the votes in the last election. After the 2006 election, Giessen is led by a coalition of the CDU, FDP and Union 90 / Greens.

According to the results of direct elections on June 7, 2009, Dietlind Hrabe-Boltz (SPD) became the mayor of Gisen, receiving 55.5% of the vote.

Transport

Giessen is a hub in the center of Hesse . Next to it are the motorways connecting Marburg and Kassel in the north, Frankfurt in the south, Würzburg in the south-east, Siegen in the north-west, and also Limburg-on-Lahn and Koblenz in the south-west. A ring highway leads around the city.

Giessen is also a railway junction in the central part of Hesse. There are both passenger and freight railway stations in the city. Until 2003, a locomotive depot was operating. Railway branches connect Giessen with Kassel in the north, Frankfurt am Main in the south, Cologne in the west, Koblenz in the southwest, Fulda in the east and Gelnhausen in the southeast.

A major role is played by the proximity to the Frankfurt Airport (about 70 km).

From the end of World War II until mid-2007, Giesen housed the central American warehouse, supplying food and civilian goods to US troops and their families in Europe.

Education

Justus Liebig Gisen University was founded in 1607 by Landgrave Ludwig V and bore his name until 1945. The university is still connected with its founder - its main building stands on Ludwig Street ( German: Ludwigstraße ). In 2009, Giessen University had over 24,000 students. The main direction of education is natural sciences and medicine. Along with educational buildings, the University Hospital Giessen and Marburg belongs to the university ^[7] .

The second higher educational institution in Giessen is the Special Higher Education Institution Giesen-Friedberg ( German: Fachhochschule Gießen-Friedberg ), founded in 1971 and has more than 11,700 students in 2009, of which about 6,000 are studying in Giessen itself.

In 2008, the Freie Theologische Hochschule Gießen higher education institution was founded, teaching in theological direction.

Total of 75,000 residents of the city, about 30,000 students.

Justice

Gisen has a number of judicial institutions, a civil court, an administrative court, a prosecutor's office, as well as a legal institution for serving sentences.

Theater

The city theater with 600 seats was built in 1906-1907 by the Fellner & Gelmer architectural bureau, similar in type to the theaters in Klagenfurt and Gablonets . The Giessen City Theater hosts theater productions, operas, operettas, musicals, dances and concerts.

Museums

Mathematikum ( German: Mathematikum ) - the first and only museum of its kind in Germany - acquaints visitors with mathematics in a very visual and interesting way. Near the Mathematical Museum is the Liebig Museum, dedicated to the scientific contribution of the famous chemist.

The Obergessen Museum consists of three parts - the Wallenfelsk House, the Leibs House and the Museum in the Old Castle. The first two are in preserved urban buildings of the old construction on the central square of Kirchplatz (German: Kirchplatz). Here you can get acquainted with prehistoric and historical archaeological finds in the Giessen area and exhibits on the history of the city. The Old Castle in Brandplatz Square contains artworks from local artists from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Architectural buildings

Due to air raids during the Second World War, historical buildings in the center of Giessen were almost not preserved. Gisen's attractions include some restored half-timbered houses. Goethe met with his friends in the Zum Löwen restaurant in 1772 ^[8] . Old Castle and New Castle of the Landgraves of Hesse . Facade of the main building of the University of Giessen and Zeichhaus , which is also used by the university.

The Gothic western tower of the city church, destroyed in 1944 during air raids, was restored as a monument to the victims of tragic events. And from the wreckage of the city church built a chapel - Pankratiuskapelle .

In 1891-1893 according to the plans of the Berlin architect Hans Grisebach near the city theater was built the Johannes Church ( German: Johanneskirche ) - the largest evangelical church of Giessen, made in Neo - Romanesque style. Its height reaches 75 meters.

The old cemetery ( German Alter Friedhof ) was laid in 1530 outside the city wall. There is a chapel in the cemetery, built in 1623-1625. Of his own free will, William Conrad Roentgen was buried in this cemetery.

The station building was built by the architect Ludwig Hoffmann in the Art Nouveau style , while the station retained the previous building in 1854.

Schiffenberg

Schiffenberg is located five kilometers from Giessen on the Hausberg hill ( German Hausberg ) (281 m). The constructions of the former monastery originate in the first half of the 12th century. In 1323-1809 the monastery belonged to the Teutonic Order . Currently, part of the buildings are destroyed. In 1972, Schiffenberg was bought by the state of Hesse and assigned to Giessen. Since 1975, in the summer months, open-air music concerts have been held here.

Badenburg

The ruins of Badenburg are located in the north-eastern part of the city - in the district of Wiesek. Badenburg was built in 1358 and destroyed during the Thirty Years War . Georg Büchner lived there at one time, where he wrote his pamphlet Der Hessische Landbote. Now there is a restaurant.

• The men's basketball team LTi Gießen 46ers (formerly MTV Gießen ) has been playing annually since 1966 in the first national league in Germany and has repeatedly become the champion .
• The USC Gießen men's volleyball team won the championships in Germany three times in the 80s.

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•   Ferrara , Italy
•   Kerkrade , the Netherlands
•   San Juan del Sur , Nicaragua
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•   Waterloo , USA
•   Hradec Kralove , Czech Republic

• 1803-1873: Justus Liebig , founder of modern organic chemistry
• 1813-1837: Georg Buchner , poet and playwright
• 1817-1895: Karl Focht , natural scientist, zoologist, paleontologist, doctor
• 1818–1892: August Wilhelm von Hoffmann , an organic chemist
• ? —1901: Merker, Maximilian , agrochemical scientist
• 1845-1923: Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen , first Nobel Prize in Physics
• 1860-1921: William Sievers , geographer, traveler
• 1865-1939: Philip Scheidemann , politician, social democrat who proclaimed Germany a republic on November 9, 1918 (as a result of the November Revolution ), the first chancellor of the Weimar Republic
• 1939: Edlef Köppen , German writer.
• 1885-1970: Friedrich Kölner , German politician, military lawyer, Nazi opposition
• 1895-1980: Walter Dornberger , administrative engineer, one of the founders of heavy rocket engineering, lieutenant general
• 1957-1985: Stefan Bellof , race car driver, participant in the Formula 1 World Racing Championship
• 1890: Heinrich Will (1812-1890) - German chemist.
• 1960: Harald Lesch , physicist, astronomer, philosopher and television host
• 1963: Til Schweiger , actor, director, producer and screenwriter

• Georg Dehio : Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler Hessen , Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-422-00380-0 .
• Otto Stumpf: Einwohnerlisten des Amtes Gießen vom 15. bis zum 17. Jahrhundert 81470 - 1669). Gießen 1983.

•   Wikimedia Commons has Giesen related media
• www.giessen.de Official Page