Giessen, Hesse, Germany

🇩🇪 Giessen, spelled Gießen in German, is a town in the German federated state of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is includes 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 50 km (31 miles) north of Frankfurt am Main. 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 north-east 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 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 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.

Points of interest • Akademischer Forstgarten Gießen, botanical gardens • Botanischer Garten Gießen, established in 1609, is the oldest botanical garden in Germany still at its original location. • Old Cemetery, (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 club Giessen 46ers, five-time champion of the Basketball Bundesliga. 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 were founded in Giessen in 1975.