Giessen

Giessen Gießen
Town
Main building of Justus Liebig University
Coat of arms
Location of Giessen within Giessen district
Giessen Show map of Germany Giessen Show map of Hesse
Coordinates: 50°35′N 8°40′E / 50.583°N 8.667°E / 50.583; 8.667
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Admin. region	Giessen
District	Giessen
Subdivisions	6 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
• Density	1,300/km2 (3,400/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
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 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.