Giessen (''Landkreis Giessen'' in
German) () is a ''Kreis'' (
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
) in the middle of
Hessen
Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major historic cities are Da ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. Neighboring districts are
Marburg-Biedenkopf,
Vogelsbergkreis,
Wetteraukreis
The Wetteraukreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Landkreis Gießen, Vogelsbergkreis, Main-Kinzig-Kreis, district-free Stadt Frankfurt, Hochtaunuskreis and Lahn-Dill-Kreis.
History
The dis ...
, and
Lahn-Dill.
History
In 1821 the
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name ...
created districts (called ''Landratsbezirke'') in the reorganisation of its internal administration. In the area of today's district the districts of Giessen and Grünberg were created. 1822 another district called Hungen was created. In 1832 these entities were replaced with bigger structures, now called ''Kreis''. There were still two districts, Giessen und Grünberg. 1837 several municipalities moved from Grünberg to Giessen, and Grünberg in exchange acquired some municipalities from Hungen, which became a district again in 1841.
After the revolutionary uprisings of 1848, the districts were dissolved and replaced with a ''Regierungsbezirk'' Giessen, but just four years later, the districts were recreated. After the war of 1866, the north-western part of the district became part of
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
. In 1874, the district grew in size again.
In 1938, the city of
Giessen
Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the Germany, German States of Germany, state () of Hesse, capital of both the Giessen (district), district of Giessen and the Giessen (region), administrative region of Giessen. The population is appro ...
was excluded from the district, and with the dissolution of the district Schotten, several municipalities joined the district.
After two minor changes in 1967 and 1971, in 1977, the district was merged with the districts Wetzlar and Dillkreis to form the new Lahn-Dill-Kreis. In 1979, it was split again, and the district Giessen was recreated. The city Giessen—temporarily merged with
Wetzlar
Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the un ...
to the city ''Lahn''—was included into the district.
Geography
The main river of the district is the
Lahn
The Lahn () is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the States of Germany, federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km).
...
, which crosses the district from north to south.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms shows a wooden triangle in the top, depicting the traditional house style. In the bottom there is the symbol of the
Saint Antonius order, which founded a monastery in Grünberg in 1242, and also supported the foundation of the university on Giessen in 1607.
Towns and municipalities
References
External links
Official website(German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giessen (District)
Giessen (region)