Gießen

Gießen is a city in North Hesse. The city has about 88,000 inhabitants (2018) including 44,000 students, so its infrastructure, shopping and cultural offerings are pretty well adapted to students.

Gießen Theater

Get in

By train

• 1 Gießen station. Service every two hours on the ICE 26 from Hamburg, Hannover, Frankfurt, Heidelberg and Karlsruhe. RE to Frankfurt run every 20 min and take 1 hour. RB to Kassel, Marburg, Wetzlar and Limburg run every hour.  

By car

Gießen can be reached by via motorways from all directions. There are several parking garages along the inner ring road. Using a car within the inner ring road is rarely advisable because of one way streets and pedestrian zones.

Understand

The city is characterized by its two major universities: Justus Liebig University (25,600 students) and Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences (10,000 students). Therefore a large proportion of its inhabitants are university students.

The historic city centre was mostly destroyed during World War II. Only a few historic buildings remain within the inner ring road. This includes the castles Altes Schloss, Neues Schloss and the theatre.

A four-lane inner ring road (Anlagenring) consisting of Nordanlage, Ostanlage, Südanlage and Westanlage surrounds the city center. It follows the course of former defensive walls that are completely demolished.

The city structure was also influenced by military facilities, both German barracks, as well as US facilities. All military facilities were closed in the 1990s and 2000s and have been converted to residential areas and business parks.

The closest major city is Frankfurt am Main (60 km distance, 45 minutes by train).

Get around

Most destinations can be reached by foot. There is a dense network of bus routes operated by SWG and RMV. A rental bike system is also available from Nextbike. 15 Minutes will cost €1. Registration should be done in advance and rentals should be managed via Nextbike's app. The quality of bicycle infrastructure varies from street to street.

See

Buildings

• 1 Elefantenklo (elefant's toilette). The most known view in Gießen seems to be the E-Klo, a "masterwork" of the questionable urban planning policy from the late 1960s. It is a massive pedestrian overpass found at Selterstor. The popular name is due to the three large octagonal openings in the concrete slab. This says a lot about what is there to see in urban Gießen. 
• 2 Stadtkirchenturm. Remains of tower of the former church Stadtkirche. Ask at Kirchenladen next door if you want to climb the tower for a view over the city.  

Museums

• 3 Mathematikum, Liebigstraße 8. An interactive museum of math and physics just down the road from the main train station. 
• 4 Liebig Museum, Liebigstraße 12. A museum dedicated to the chemist Justus Liebig and chemistry in Liebig's original laboratory. It offers lectures with demonstrations of chemical reactions. Due to a fire in 2022 its opening hours are limited during the reconstruction. 
• 5 Kunsthalle Gießen, Berliner Platz 1. With temporary art exhibitions. 
• 6 Museum für Gießen (formerly Oberhessisches Museum). A museum of art and history. As of 2024, it is under redevelopment in order to become more attractive to visitors. (updated Oct 2024)

Parks

• 7 Botanischer Garten (Botanical garden). A collection of plants from all over the word, including old trees. Some of them shown in greenhouses. free.  
• 8 Alter Friedhof. Is a historic, park-like cemetery with some notable tombstones. Only very few burials take place here anymore. Includes a Jewish section. free.  

Excursions

• 9 Dünsberg (about 10 km to the north of Giessen. Parking and bus stop at the foot of the mountain. No car access to the peak.). Ancient Celtic buildings, e.g., a Celtic oppidum was rebuilt. They are on small wooded hill where activities such as hiking and cycling are popular. Nearby are some old castles, which can be visited too.  
• 10 Kloster Schiffenberg (Schiffenberg Abbey) (6 km hiking or cycling uphill from the city centre through the forest Schiffenberger Wald. Bus stops: Schiffenberg (served by line 6 from the city center, Sunday only, directly at the abbey) or Forsthaus or Petersweiher at the foot of the hill. Parking is available.). A well-preserved small monastery an a hill. A popular hiking and cycling destination for locals. There is a beer garden and a restaurant. It is also a concert venue. free (except during concerts).  

Kloster Schiffenberg

• 11 Burg Gleiberg. A castle ruin on top of the remains of an ancient volcano.  
• 12 Burg Vetzberg. A castle ruin on top of the remains of an ancient volcano. Close to Gleiberg, but smaller.  

Do

• There is a boat rental that offers pedal boats and canoes on the river Lahn. Both short rentals and day trips are possible. One can enjoy the nature of the Lahn valley on a 5- to 6-hour trip to Wetzlar.

Learn

• 1 Justus-Liebig University. Founded in 1607 and with a bit under 30,000 students, Hesse's second biggest university, this is the main reason why Gießen is known outside its immediate environs.  

Buy

• Seltersweg (Within the inner ring road.). Is the main shopping street. It is pedestrianized and offers a variety of shops (clothes, jewelry, books, drugstores). More shops can be found on the side streets. These are often quieter than the busy Seltersweg. On and around Seltersweg, there are many restaurants, cafés and food stalls. Despite the damage of World War II, some historic w:Gründerzeit buildings have survived or were rebuilt. Most of them are at the southern end of the street. 
  • Galeria (at the southern end of Seltersweg). By far the largest department store in the city. Before the merger of the department store chains Karstadt and Kaufhof, it was called Karstadt. Locally, it is still called Kartstadt.  
• Wochenmarkt (Brandplatz in the city centre). W Sa 07:00–14:00. Farmer's market. You can buy fruits, vegetables, meat, cheese and flowers there. Some of it is locally produced. Some food stalls offer small meals. 
• neustädter. Is a shopping mall. Even though there is an increasing number of vacancies, it is still a functional shopping mall that compliments Seltersweg. 
• Westoria (use bus stop Friedrich-List-Straße). A car-centric shopping mall in the western outskirts. There is a supermarket and an electronics store as well as some smaller shops. 

• 
  Post war architecture on Seltersweg
• 
  Gründerzeit architecture on Seltersweg

Eat

• University cafeterias. The cafeterias of JLU and THM are operated by Studierendenwerk Gießen. Everyone can eat there but you need to ask at the cash desk for a black MensaCard for guests for payment. They are scattered across the city and offer lunch. The main cafeteria at Otto-Behagel-Straße also offers dinner. The vegetarian options are good, vegan options also exist. 
• Adria, Frankfurter Straße 30. Italian restaurant. 
• Bakchos, Ludwigstraße 10 (near the Marktplatz). Greek restaurant. 
• heyligenstaedt, Aulweg 41, ☏ +49 641 4609650. Hotel and restaurant. 

Sleep

• Hotel Steinsgarten. 
• Hotel Altes Eishaus, Wißmarer Weg 45. 

Go next

• Wetzlar
• Marburg
• Lich A small town full of half-timbered houses 13 km east of Gießen. 15 minutes by train.