Giessen

Giessen
Gießen

Coat of arms
Giessen
Location of Giessen within Giessen district
Coordinates: 50°35′0″N 8°40′0″E / 50.58333°N 8.66667°E / 50.58333; 8.66667Coordinates: 50°35′0″N 8°40′0″E / 50.58333°N 8.66667°E / 50.58333; 8.66667
Country Germany
State Hesse
Admin. region Giessen
District Giessen
Government
 • Lord Mayor Dietlind Grabe-Bolz (SPD)
Area
 • Total 72.56 km2 (28.02 sq mi)
Elevation 155-304 m (−842 ft)
Population (2017-12-31)[1]
 • Total 87,343
 • Density 1,200/km2 (3,100/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 35390–35398
Dialling codes 0641, 06403
Vehicle registration GI
Website www.giessen.de

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 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. The largest river in 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 state festival.

History

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 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.[3][4][5] 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 bounded to Darmstadt (region) between 1945 and 1981 until 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 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 Depot and all other U.S. facilities in the greater Giessen area were turned back to local German authorities. The former U.S. Army buildings were used to house refugees after the large intake of 2016.

After the war, the city was twinned with Winchester, UK.[6]

Largest groups of foreign residents
NationalityPopulation (2011)
 Turkey1,922
 Greece569
 Italy425

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Giessen is twinned with:[7]

Points of interest

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.

Notable people

Education

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.[11] Although the dialect still influences the Giessen vernacular, 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 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]

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Bevölkerung der hessischen Gemeinden". Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt (in German). September 2018.
  2. ↑ Wikisource Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Giessen". Encyclopædia Britannica. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 4.
  3. ↑ Edward Victor. Alphabetical List of Camps, Subcamps and Other Camps.
  4. ↑ 1933-1945 Lager G. Tenhumberg Reinhard. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
  5. ↑ Hessian Regional History Information System (LAGIS)
  6. ↑ "USAG Giessen Folds Up Tent". Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  7. ↑ "Gießen: Städtepartnerschaften" [Giessen: Twin towns] (in German). Stadt Gießen. Archived from the original on 2013-04-13. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  8. ↑ "Netanya - Twin Cities". Netanya Municipality. Archived from the original on 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  9. ↑ "Twin Towns in Hampshire". Www3.hants.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  10. ↑ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Marquis Who's Who. 1967.
  11. ↑ Hans-Günter Lerch, "Tschü lowi...Das Manische in Gießen", 1976/2005, pages 16-22.
  12. ↑ "Weatherbase.com". Weatherbase. 2013. Retrieved on May 9, 2013.
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