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Giessen

For other uses, see Giessen (disambiguation).
Giessen
Gießen
Town
Main building of Justus Liebig University
Main building of Justus Liebig University
Coat of arms of Giessen
Coat of arms
Location of Giessen within Giessen district
BiebertalWettenbergLollarStaufenbergAllendorfRabenauHeuchelheimGiessenBuseckGrünbergFernwaldLindenLanggönsPohlheimReiskirchenLichHungenLaubachWetteraukreisVogelsbergkreisLimburg-WeilburgLimburg-WeilburgMarburg-BiedenkopfLahn-Dill-Kreis
Giessen is located in Germany
Giessen
Giessen
Giessen is located in Hesse
Giessen
Giessen
Coordinates: 50°35′N 8°40′E / 50.583°N 8.667°E / 50.583; 8.667
CountryGermany
StateHesse
Admin. regionGiessen
DistrictGiessen
Subdivisions6 Stadtteile
Government
 • Lord mayor (2021–27) Frank-Tilo Becher[1] (SPD)
Area
 • Total
72.56 km2 (28.02 sq mi)
Elevation
159 m (522 ft)
Population
 (2022-12-31)[2]
 • Total
94,146
 • Density1,300/km2 (3,400/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
35390–35398
Dialling codes0641, 06403
Vehicle registrationGI
Websitewww.giessen.de

Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (German pronunciation: [ˈɡiːsn̩] ⓘ), is a town in the German state (Bundesland) of Hesse, 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.[3]

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 is the Lahn, which divides the town in two parts (west and east), roughly 50 kilometres (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,[4] 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.[5][6][7] 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.[8] 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, UK.[9]

Largest groups of foreign residents
Nationality Population (2011)
 Turkey 1,922
 Greece 569
 Italy 425

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Giessen is twinned with:[10]

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.

Religion

The Catholic Scouts of Europe were founded in Giessen in 1975.[13]

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.[15] 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 (1991–2020 normals)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 4.0
(39.2) 		5.6
(42.1) 		10.2
(50.4) 		15.4
(59.7) 		19.3
(66.7) 		22.7
(72.9) 		25.0
(77.0) 		24.7
(76.5) 		19.8
(67.6) 		13.9
(57.0) 		8.0
(46.4) 		4.5
(40.1) 		14.4
(57.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1.4
(34.5) 		2.2
(36.0) 		5.6
(42.1) 		9.8
(49.6) 		13.8
(56.8) 		17.1
(62.8) 		19.0
(66.2) 		18.6
(65.5) 		14.3
(57.7) 		9.6
(49.3) 		5.3
(41.5) 		2.2
(36.0) 		9.9
(49.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −1.2
(29.8) 		−1.1
(30.0) 		1.2
(34.2) 		4.2
(39.6) 		8.0
(46.4) 		11.2
(52.2) 		13.2
(55.8) 		12.8
(55.0) 		9.3
(48.7) 		5.8
(42.4) 		2.5
(36.5) 		−0.2
(31.6) 		5.5
(41.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 48.6
(1.91) 		35.9
(1.41) 		42.2
(1.66) 		37.9
(1.49) 		57.9
(2.28) 		59.8
(2.35) 		73.5
(2.89) 		61.7
(2.43) 		49.8
(1.96) 		49.9
(1.96) 		48.9
(1.93) 		55.8
(2.20) 		626.9
(24.68)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 16.3 14.6 14.6 12.5 13.8 13.6 15.0 13.3 12.5 15.5 16.4 17.7 176.9
Average snowy days (≥ 1.0 cm) 6.1 4.8 1.2 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.5 3.6 16.3
Average relative humidity (%) 86.4 82.5 76.0 68.9 70.3 70.2 69.4 71.1 78.6 85.6 89.0 89.3 78.1
Mean monthly sunshine hours 47.4 75.1 129.5 185.9 207.5 221.3 226.7 216.4 152.7 95.9 43.4 34.2 1,636.1
Source: World Meteorological Organization[16]

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ "Ergebnisse der letzten Direktwahl aller hessischen Landkreise und Gemeinden" (XLS) (in German). Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt. 5 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Bevölkerung in Hessen am 31.12.2022 nach Gemeinden" (XLS) (in German). Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt. June 2023.
  3. ^ "Einwohnerstatistik" (PDF). Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  4. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Giessen" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 4.
  5. ^ Edward Victor. Alphabetical List of Camps, Subcamps and Other Camps.
  6. ^ 1933-1945 Lager G. Tenhumberg Reinhard. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
  7. ^ Hessian Regional History Information System (LAGIS)
  8. ^ Das US-Depot als Ort der Mythen: Reportage und Führung. Gießener Allgemeine, 27. Juli 2015 (German)
  9. ^ "USAG Giessen Folds Up Tent". Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  10. ^ "Gießen: Städtepartnerschaften" [Giessen: Twin towns] (in German). Stadt Gießen. Archived from the original on 2013-04-13. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  11. ^ "Netanya – Twin Cities". Netanya Municipality. Archived from the original on 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  12. ^ "Twin Towns in Hampshire". Www3.hants.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  13. ^ "Pfadfinder – KPE".
  14. ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896. Marquis Who's Who. 1967.
  15. ^ Hans-Günter Lerch, "Tschü lowi...Das Manische in Gießen", 1976/2005, pages 16-22.
  16. ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020". World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gie%C3%9Fen