Langen is a town of roughly 39,000 in the
Offenbach district in the ''
Regierungsbezirk
A ' (, 'governmental district') is a type of administrative division in Germany. Currently, four of sixteen ' (states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts
' (plural, ) serve as regional mid-level local gov ...
'' of
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...
in
Hesse
Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, 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 hist ...
,
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 ...
. The town is between
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...
and
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
and part of the
Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. Langen is headquarters to
Deutsche Flugsicherung (German air traffic control), and is also home to the
Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, a Federal institute for the evaluation and supervision of sera and
vaccine
A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...
s in Germany.
Geography
Neighbouring communities
Langen borders in the north and northeast on the town of
Dreieich, in the south on the community of
Egelsbach and in the west on the town of
Mörfelden-Walldorf
Mörfelden-Walldorf () is a town in the Groß-Gerau (district), Groß-Gerau district, situated in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region in the federal state (Bundesland) Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Mörfelden-Walldorf is situated within a tria ...
(
Groß-Gerau district).
Constituent communities
Langen is only subdivided internally. Its ''
Stadtteile'' are:
* Altstadt ("Old Town") in the east. This lies within the former eastern town wall, parts of which may still be seen. There is an ''Altstadtordnung'' ("Old Town Order") in force for the Old Town, meant to preserve the many
timber-frame houses’ character.
* Zentrum ("Centre") in the middle of Langen. This is surrounded by the other ''Stadtteile''.
* Neurott, in the northwest. This is a great industrial-commercial area, in which businesses such as
Borland
Borland Software Corporation was a computing technology company founded in 1983 by Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen, Mogens Glad, and Philippe Kahn. Its main business was developing and selling software development and software deployment products. B ...
and
Oracle
An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination.
Descript ...
have their offices. Here are also found the headquarters of
Deutsche Flugsicherung (German Air Traffic Control) and the
Paul-Ehrlich-Institut. Furthermore, there are also residential neighbourhoods in Neurott. One of them was built in 1958 for
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
troops from the nearby
Rhein-Main Air Base (closed in 2005), and so it is equipped with
basketball court
In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor ...
s and a
baseball diamond. In September 2008, the
US Army gave the Langen Terrace Rhein-Main U.S. Air Force Family Housing Area back to the Federal Republic. The dwellings are now to be leased by the ''
Bundesanstalt für Immobilienaufgaben'' (BImA, the German government agency for administering and utilizing government land). Furthermore, the question of whether it would be possible for there to be denser building is being examined.
* Nordend ("North End"), a residential neighbourhood in which are found many dwelling blocks and
highrises.
* Linden and Oberlinden in the west came into being as pure residential neighbourhoods and at the time they raised Langen's population considerably.
* Steinberg in the southeast. Here, since the late 1990s, there have been
terraced houses for one, two or three families.
History
The earliest community here may have arisen about AD 500 or 600, settled by
Frankish migrants. Langen had its first documentary mention in 834 in a donation document from
King Ludwig II to the
Lorsch Abbey under the name ''Langungon''. In 835, he had the extent of the Mark Langen (a communal area shared by a number of villages) delineated with ''Drieichlahha'', today's
Dreieich, as a neighbouring community to the north. To the Dreieich Royal Hunting Forest (''Wildbann Dreieich''), which in the king's name was governed by the Lords of Hagen (later of Münzenberg) as ''
Vögte'', also belonged in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
the woodlands around Langen. Two of the Royal Hunting Forest's 30 ''Wildhuben'' (farming estates whose owners were charged with guarding the king's hunting rights) lay in Langen. Since the Lorsch Abbey hardly worried very much about their landholdings, the Lords of Hagen-Münzenberg came over the course of time to be the land's effective owners.
When the Hagen-Münzenberg family died out in 1255, the place passed to the
Lords of Falkenstein. In 1414, the village burnt down in the midst of a dispute between the city of
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
and the then owners of Langen, the
Archbishop of Trier,
Werner von Falkenstein. When the Lords of Falkenstein, too, saw their male line come to an end in 1418, the
County of Isenburg inherited the lordship over Langen. Surviving from the Middle Ages are, among other things remains of the fortifications with the ''spitzer Turm'' and the ''stumpfer Turm'' ("Sharp Tower" and "Blunt Tower") from Falkenstein times (1336), and from the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
the ''Vierröhrenbrunnen'' ("Four-Pipe Spring") from 1553.
In 1600, Langen, along with the whole ''
Amt'' of
Kelsterbach was sold by the Counts of Isenburg to the
Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt () was a Imperial State, State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse among the four sons of Landgr ...
. Langen has belonged to Hesse since then. With the partitioning of the Länger Mark in 1732, whose main estate Langen was, the community got two thirds of the land, and
Egelsbach the other third.
In 1812, Langen was raised to market community. After the
French period, in 1821, Langen was raised to seat of the ''Landratsbezirk'', practically making Langen a district seat, although in 1832 it had to yield this function to
Groß-Gerau and
Offenbach. In 1834, Langen had 2,368 inhabitants. In 1846, the
Main-Neckar Railway (88 km) was opened with a
railway station in Langen.
In 1862, the
Offenbach district was formed.
In 1883, the community was granted town rights by Grand Duke
Ludwig IV.
After the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Langen was – as part of the
Mainz
Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
bridgehead – occupied by
French troops until 1930 (→
Occupation of the Rhineland).
Around 1959, a new
urban district, ''Oberlinden'', was built. The population rose from 9,077 in 1939 to 28,500 in 1983.
Politics
The town's mayor is Jan Werner (independent). The first councillor is Stefan Löbig (
Green Party).
At the direct election for mayor on 27 January 2008, none of the seven candidates could secure the needed majority, and so on 10 February 2008, a
runoff election was held between Frieder Gebhardt (SPD) and Berthold Matyschok (CDU). This was won by Gebhardt with 63.98% of the vote. Matyschok had only barely edged out the independent candidate Dr. Jan Werner (then also a CDU member) in the first round of voting. Frieder Gebhardt took office on 30 June 2008, succeeding his fellow party member Dieter Pitthan. His time in office is to run from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2020 (re-election 2014). Pitthan, after 18 years in office, was named an honorary citizen. This makes Gebhardt, after Johannes Steitz (1946-1948), Wilhelm Umbach (1948-1966), Hans Kreiling (1966-1990) and Dieter Pitthan (1990-2008) Langen's fifth elected SPD mayor since the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. In October 1945, Christian Zellhöfer (likewise SPD) was appointed mayor for a short time.
The New Town Hall in Langen
Town council
The municipal election held on 6 March 2016 yielded the following results, compared to previous elections:
Culture
Well known outside the town is above all the Langen ''
Ebbelwoi-Fest'', to which tens of thousands of visitors come each year on the last weekend in June. Moreover, the ''Langener Waldsee'', a favourite outing destination among dwellers of the nearby Main agglomeration, is within town limits. Since 2002, the swimming competition Ironman Germany (so called even in
German) has been held there.
The town museum is found at the Old Town Hall in the Old Town. However, it opens only for special exhibitions, such as the one between May 2008 and March 2009 for the show ''Blick(e) zurück'' ("Looking Back") for the 125-year jubilee of town rights.
On the town's outskirts is found the former hunting palace of
Schloß Wolfsgarten, which is owned by the House of Hesse.
Quite a few
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
s and musical groups frame Langen's cultural makeup. Among the most important are the Langen Orchestra Club and the TV 1862 Langen's (sport club) wind orchestra. Both groups furnish accompaniment to many of Langen's public events.
Langen's most successful sport team are the TV 1862 Langen's basketball players, who are represented in Pro A, Germany's second highest playing class. Home games are played at the Georg-Sehring-Halle.
Economy and infrastructure
Transport

Langen has good connections with all transport providers.
Langen station is on the
Rhine-Main S-Bahn network running on the
Main-Neckar line and is served by S-Bahn line . The travel time to downtown Frankfurt is roughly 20 minutes with trains running every 15 minutes. Moreover, regional trains on the Frankfurt-
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...
and Frankfurt-
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
runs stop here.
Furthermore, Langen is linked to the north–south
Autobahn
The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'.
Much of t ...
en
A 5 (Langen/Mörfelden
interchange in the town's west) and
A 661 (Langen interchange in the east). Both interchanges are linked by the east–west ''
Bundesstraße
''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.
Germany
Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km.
German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...
'' 486, which at the same time also forms the Langen north bypass. This new link also connects the industrial area in the northwest, in which are found, among other things, Federal authorities. Along ''Bundesstraße'' 486 towards the west, after about 15 km, drivers reach the ''Rüsselsheimer Dreieck'' ("Rüsselsheim Triangle"), where the
A 60 towards
Mainz
Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
branches off the
A 67 (
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...
-
Mönchhof).
Running across the municipal area is also the former ''Bundesstraße'' 3 from
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
to
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...
.
Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, Germany's busiest general airport, lies in the neighbouring community of
Egelsbach some 3 km away, while Europe's third biggest airport,
Frankfurt Airport, is found about 10 km from Langen.
Authorities
In Langen, three Federal authorities are represented. The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut has its headquarters in the town, which since 1993 has also been the German Federal Office for Sera and Vaccines.
An outlying location of the Federal Office for Civil Aviation of Germany (''Luftfahrtbundesamt'') is connected to the headquarters of
German Air Traffic Control. Likewise represented here are the Office for
Bundeswehr Air Traffic Control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...
(''Amt für Flugsicherung der Bundeswehr'') and the Air Traffic Control Academy (''Flugsicherungsakademie'') for training
air traffic controllers. Also housed in the Air Traffic Control Academy's building is the ''Wetterdienstschule'' ("Weather Service School"), which was formerly in
Neustadt an der Weinstraße.
Furthermore, an outlying location of the ''Umweltbundesamt'' ("Federal Environment Office") is found in the town, which grew out of the former Institute for Water, Soil and Air Hygiene (''Institut für Wasser-, Boden- und Lufthygiene'', or WaBoLu).
Plans in 2004 to close this by 2008 have since been revised. Henceforth the plans call for moving the institute in two stages to
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
by 2018.
Established businesses
*
Asklepios Kliniken
*
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc., often known as Sun for short, was an American technology company that existed from 1982 to 2010 which developed and sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services. Sun contributed sig ...
*
Deutsche Post
(, ) is a brand of the DHL Group (listed as ), used for its domestic mail services in Germany. The services offered under the brand are those of a traditional mail service, making the brand the successor of the former state-owned mail monopoly ...
subsidiary
DHL
DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational Import-Export Expert Company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, ...
has built a postal centre in Langen for sending letters to the surrounding area.
*
Borland
Borland Software Corporation was a computing technology company founded in 1983 by Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen, Mogens Glad, and Philippe Kahn. Its main business was developing and selling software development and software deployment products. B ...
*
Panasonic
is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and c ...
*
Nikon
(, ; ) is a Japanese optics and photographic equipment manufacturer. Nikon's products include cameras, camera lenses, binoculars, microscopes, ophthalmic lenses, measurement instruments, rifle scopes, spotting scopes, and equipment related to S ...
*
Vivendi Universal Publishing
*
Bull Computer
*
Fujitsu
* MISCO Germany
*
THALES
Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...
*
SAG
*
Liferay
* The Bristol Group Deutschland GmbH manufacturer of independent IT security providers and service providers.
*
Henry Schein
Education
Primary schools
* Albert-Schweitzer-Schule
* Geschwister-Scholl-Schule
* Ludwig-Erk-Schule
* Sonnenblumenschule
* Wallschule
Gymnasium
* Dreieichschule
Comprehensive schools
* Albert-Einstein-Schule (integrated comprehensive school)
* Adolf-Reichwein-Schule (coöperative comprehensive school)
Special schools
* Erich-Kästner-Schule – school for pupils with physical handicaps
* Janusz-Korczak-Schule - school for trainable pupils with mental handicaps
Colleges
* DFS-Flugsicherungsakademie
Media
The daily
newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
with the highest circulation is the ''Langener Zeitung'', a local edition of the ''Offenbach-Post''.
Twin towns – sister cities
Langen is
twinned with:
*
Aranda de Duero, Spain
*
Long Eaton, England, United Kingdom
*
Romorantin-Lanthenay, France
*
Tarsus, Turkey
Notable people
*Willi Leininger (1907–1971), composer, music writer and journalist
*Friedrich Zängerle (1911–1996), trade unionist
*Rudi Sehring (born 1930), jazz drummer
*Henning Boëtius (born 1939), writer
*
Tanja Börzel (born 1970), political scientist and university lecturer
*
Jan Costin Wagner (born 1972), writer
*
Meike Babel (born 1974), tennis player
*
Carsten Nulle (born 1975), footballer
*Janine Wissler (born 1981), politician (
Die Linke), member of the Hesse ''Landtag''
*
Ralf Schneider (born 1986), footballer
*
Jennifer Hof (born 1991), model and winner of the third season of ''
Germany's Next Top Model''
Leisure
* Leisure and family pool with adjoining rollerskating park
* Indoor swimming pool with warm bathing days
* Langener Waldsee (lake) with a
naturism area and an
angling
Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...
area
* Youth centre with concerts and other activities
* Paddling pond with playground and much more
References
External links
*
*
Langen Science Prize (''Langener Wissenschaftspreis'')
{{Authority control
Offenbach (district)