About Giessen

The city of Giessen is situated in the Rhine-Main-Region close to the economic centre Frankfurt. The location combines the amenities of small and middle sized towns with lots of green spaces in the cities and a wonderful landscape just outside the door.

A vibrant cultural scene, a variety of restaurants, cafés, bars and clubs, small and medium-sized enterprises in various businesses and good shopping facilities offer an excellent atmosphere to study, to work and to live. Hiking, cycling and canoeing are just a few of the possibilities one has to experience the beauties in and around the city.

Giessen has about 72,000 inhabitants and approximately 26,000 of them are students. The student-population-ratio is one of the highest in Germany. 6,000 students study at the Giessen location of the University of Applied Sciences and about 20,000 study at the Justus-Liebig University Giessen. The lively student scene can be seen and experienced everywhere in town.

The historical roots of Giessen as a centre for science and research reach back to 1607 when the university was founded by earl Ludwig V. of Hessen-Darmstadt. This institution was completed in 1838 by a school for craftsman, which is the predecessor of the University of Applied Sciences Giessen-Friedberg. Giessen as an academic centre has attracted famous scientists, like Justus Liebig, the "inventor" of artificial fertilization, after whom the university is named, or the Nobel Prize winner Wilhelm-Conrad Röntgen, who taught in Giessen from 1879 to 1888.