Gießen

Infobox German Location
Art = Stadt
Name = Gießen
Wappen = Wappen Gießen.svg
lat_deg = 50 | lat_min = 35 | lat_sec=0
lon_deg = 8 | lon_min = 40 | lon_sec=0
Lageplan = Landkreis Gießen Gießen.pngLageplanbeschreibung =
Bundesland = Hessen
Regierungsbezirk = Gießen
Landkreis = Gießen
Höhe = 155-304 |Fläche = 72.562
Einwohner = 73958
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 35331–35398
PLZ-alt = 6300
Vorwahl = 0641, 06403
Kfz = GI
Gemeindeschlüssel = 06 5 31 005
Gliederung = 6 Stadtteile
Adresse = Südanlage 5
35390 Gießen
Website = [http://www.giessen.de/ www.giessen.de]
Bürgermeister = Heinz-Peter Haumann
Bürgermeistertitel = Oberbürgermeister
Partei = CDU

Gießen (IPA2|ˈgiːsən) is a town in the German federal state ("Bundesland") of Hessen, capital of both the district of Gießen and the administrative region of Gießen. The population is approximately 71,000, with roughly 22,000 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.Fact|date=March 2008 The greatest stream in Gießen is the river Lahn, that divides the town in two parts (west and east), roughly 50 kilometres north of Frankfurt.

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 northeast and in today's suburb called "Wieseck" dates back to 775. The town became part of Hessen-Marburg in 1567, passing to Hessen-Darmstadt in 1604. The University of Gießen was founded in 1607. Gießen was included within the Grand Duchy of Hessen, created in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. After World War I, it was part of the People's State of Hesse.

During World War II, a subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp was located in the town. [Edward Victor. [http://www.edwardvictor.com/Holocaust/List%20of%20Camps.htm "Alphabetical List of Camps, Subcamps and Other Camps."] ] . 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 after the war.

In 1977 Gießen was merged with the neighboring city Wetzlar to form the new city of Lahn; however, this attempt to reorganize the administration was reversed in 1979.

An American military base was located in Gießen after World War II. The U.S. Army Garrison Gießen, has 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 theater, known as the Keller Theater, is a converted German army Officer's Club. As of September 28th, 2007, the Gießen Depot, and all other communities in the greater Gießen area were turned back over to the local German authorities.cite web
url = http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,153028,00.html
title = "USAG Giessen Folds Up Tent"
accessdate = 2008-05-08]

People

*Johann Georg Rosenmüller (1736–1815), professor of theology at the university
* Justus von Liebig (1803–1873), chemist, professor. The official name of the University of Gießen is now "Justus Liebig University"
* Samuel Adler (1809–1891), a noted rabbi in the United States, attended the University of Gießencite book | title = Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896 | publisher = Marquis Who's Who | date = 1967]
* Georg Büchner (1813–1837) studied two years at the University of Gießen
* Wilhelm Liebknecht (1826–1900), founder of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, was born on March 29, 1826 in Gießen
* Adolph Hansen (1851–1920), botanist and professor at University of Giessen
* 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
* Alfred Milner (1854–1925), British statesman
*Wilhelm Sievers (1860–1921), geographer, explorer, professor at the university
* 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 has established the Kellner Project
* Fritz Heichelheim (1901–1968), economist
* Demis Nikolaidis (1973– ), Greek footballer
* Juli, pop-rock band from Gießen
* Giessen 46ers, five-time Korać Cup participant that featured former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets basketball star B.J. Elder

Education

* University of Gießen
* University of Applied Sciences Gießen-Friedberg

Manisch

Manisch is a dialect of rotwelsch spoken in and around Gießen by people in lower income neighborhoods, some of which are known as "Eulenkopf", "Gummiinsel", "Heyerweg" and "Marienhütte". Approximately 700-750 residents spoke the dialect fluently as of 1976. [ Hans-Günter Lerch, "Tschü lowi...Das Manische in Gießen", 1976/2005, pages 16-22.] Although the dialect still influences the Gießen vernacular, it is nearly extinct in terms of fluent speakers.

References