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78-570: Kirchhain is located in the heart of the state of Hesse in Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Geographically, it is surrounded by the Amöneburg Basin on the southeast edge of the Burgwald (a low mountain range) about 15 km east of Marburg on the rivers Ohm and Wohra. In the north, Kirchhain borders on the town of Rauschenberg , in the east on the town of Stadtallendorf , in the south on

156-526: A Hessian-Westphalian stone cist ( hessisch-westfälische Steinkiste ), it is one of the most important megalithic monuments in Central Europe. Dating to c.  3000 BC , it belongs to the Late Neolithic Wartberg culture . An early Celtic presence in what is now Hesse is indicated by a mid-5th-century BC La Tène -style burial uncovered at Glauberg . The region was later settled by

234-467: A considerable degree of home rule . The state is divided into three administrative provinces ( Regierungsbezirke ): Kassel in the north and east, Gießen in the centre, and Darmstadt in the south, the latter being the most populous region with the Frankfurt Rhine-Main agglomeration in its central area. The administrative regions have no legislature of their own, but are executive agencies of

312-566: A few times during the Thirty Years' War , becoming for a time the headquarters of various armies, and thereby having to suffer as troops were billeted in the town. In 1636, about 12,000 to 14,000 soldiers were being housed in and around the town. For the 1,000 or so townsfolk at that time, this was a tremendous burden. Kirchhain likewise had to put up with such troubles in the Seven Years' War as its good traffic connections once again led troops to

390-573: A million displaced ethnic Germans . Due to its proximity to the Inner German border , Hesse became an important location of NATO installations in the 1950s, especially military bases of the US V Corps and United States Army Europe . The first elected minister president of Hesse was Christian Stock , followed by Georg-August Zinn (both Social Democrats ). The German Social Democrats gained an absolute majority in 1962 and pursued progressive policies with

468-432: A parliamentary republic since 1918, except during Nazi rule (1933–1945). The German federal system has elements of exclusive federal competences, shared competences, and exclusive competences of the states. Hesse is famous for having a rather brisk style in its politics with the ruling parties being either the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) or the center-left Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Due to

546-670: A part of Gudensberg near Fritzlar and less than ten miles from Geismar, was likely an ancient religious center; the basaltic outcrop of Gudensberg is named after Wodan, and a two-meter tall quartzite megalith called the Wotanstein is at the center of the village. By the mid-7th century, the Franks had established themselves as overlords, which is suggested by archeological evidence of burials, and they built fortifications in various places, including Christenberg . By 690, they took direct control over Hessia, apparently to counteract expansion by

624-536: A spur that offered a commanding view over Fritzlar and the densely-populated heart of Hessia". Following Saxon incursions into Chattish territory in the 7th century, two gaue had been established; a Frankish one, comprising an area around Fritzlar and Kassel , and a Saxonian one. In the 9th century, the Saxon Hessengau also came under the rule of the Franconians. From 962 the land which would become Hesse

702-638: A substantial built environment such as the country's largest airport, contrasting with the more forested, hillier middle and northern thirds of Hesse. The longest rivers in Hesse are the Eder and moreover its distributary the Fulda draining most of the north, the Lahn in the centre-west and, as to those navigable by large vessels, the Main and very broad Rhine in the south. The countryside

780-737: A tight federation of German states established by Prussia in 1867, while also remaining part of the Grand Duchy. In 1871, after France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War , the whole of the Grand Duchy joined the German Empire . Around the turn of the 20th century, Darmstadt was one of the centres of the Jugendstil . Until 1907, the Grand Duchy of Hesse used the Hessian red and white lion barry as its coat-of-arms. The revolution of 1918 following

858-695: A unified presentation. Cities and urban areas within it often pursue separate investment policies against each other. From within, Düsseldorf, Essen, and Cologne are by far the largest economic centers, with specialisation in financial/high tech and insurance/multi media services respectively. Other major economic centers are Bonn and Dortmund. The region is home to twelve Fortune Global 500 companies, among them E.ON AG (Essen), Deutsche Post AG (Bonn), Metro AG (Düsseldorf), Deutsche Telekom AG (Bonn), ThyssenKrupp AG (Essen), RWE AG (Essen), Bayer AG (Leverkusen), Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH (Duisburg), Evonik Industries (Essen), Hochtief AG , (Essen), and

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936-889: Is hilly and the topographical map, inset, names 14 short, low to medium-height mountain ranges including the Rhön , the Westerwald , the Taunus , the Vogelsberg , the Knüll and the Spessart . The notable range forming the southern taper of Hesse (shared with a narrowing of the Ried, the Rhine's eastern plain) and briefly spanning the middle Neckar valley which begins directly east of Heidelberg (thus also in Baden-Württemberg )

1014-575: Is home to nine universities and over 30 partly postgraduate colleges , with a total of over 300.000 students. The largest and oldest university is the University of Cologne (Universität zu Köln) , founded in 1388 AD. Other universities include: The following register lists all municipalities that officially belong to Rhine-Ruhr area. Demographically, these municipalities include 20 cities (German: Kreisfreie Städte ) each with more than 100,000 inhabitants , and 11 districts (German: Kreis ), each with

1092-615: Is the Odenwald . Forming a mid-eastern tiny projection into mostly Thuringia is the uppermost part of the Ulster , commanding the west valley side of which is the Hessian highest point, Wasserkuppe at 950m above sea level – in the Rhön. The Rhine forms the long southwest border of Hesse. Two notables oxbow lakes , the Stockstadt-Erfelder Altrhein and Lampertheimer Altrhein are in

1170-526: Is the most dense in all of Germany. The rail, S-Bahn, U-Bahn and bus companies are administered through a consortium of local and regional transport lines, the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr . It offers a rapid transit system which interconnects all cities and their respective local buses, trams, U- and S-Bahn systems, partly under the umbrella of Deutsche Bahn. Their systems are highly integrated where even some subway lines continue from one city to

1248-710: The Cologne and Düsseldorf carnivals (carnival is however a public event in almost all cities and towns of the area), the Cologne Comedy Festival , Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen, and the RuhrTriennale , as well as Gamescom and other trade fairs at Koelnmesse— Cologne Trade Fair and Messe Düsseldorf ; and Essen Motor Show in Essen. With a capacity of up to 20,000 people, the Lanxess Arena and Westfalenhallen are amongst

1326-620: The Duchy of Westphalia from Cologne , the parts of Worms on the right-bank of the Rhine, and the former Free City of Friedberg . Nassau-Weilburg gained the right-bank territories of Trier among other territories. Orange-Nassau gained the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (as the Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda ). The Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel was also elevated to the status of Prince-Elector ( Kurfürst ), with his state thereby becoming

1404-630: The Electorate of Hesse or Electoral Hesse (German: Kurhessen , Kur being the German-language term for the Empire's College of Electors ). In July 1806 Hesse-Darmstadt, Nassau-Weilburg, Nassau-Usingen , and the newly merged Principality of Isenburg became founding members of Napoleon 's Confederation of the Rhine . Hesse-Darmstadt expanded further in the resulting mediatisation, absorbing numerous small states (including Hesse-Homburg and much of

1482-469: The European Route of Industrial Heritage . NRW Forum , Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen , Kunsthalle Düsseldorf , Museum Koenig , Museum Ludwig , Romano-Germanic Museum , Wallraf-Richartz Museum , Neanderthal Museum , Museum Folkwang , Museum Ostwall , Lehmbruck Museum , German Mining Museum and Deutsches Museum Bonn are some of the most famous examples. The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region

1560-699: The French Empire as Pays réservé de Catzenellenbogen  [ de ] . The rest of its territory was annexed to the Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807; Hesse-Hanau (a secundogeniture of Hesse-Kassel) was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt in 1810 along with the other territories held by the Prince-primate: Frankfurt, Fulda, Aschaffenburg and Wetzlar . As a result of the German campaign of 1813

1638-685: The Germanic Chatti tribe around the 1st century BC, and the name Hesse is a continuation of that tribal name. The ancient Romans had a military camp in Dorlar, and in Waldgirmes directly on the eastern outskirts of Wetzlar was a civil settlement under construction. Presumably, the provincial government for the occupied territories of the right bank of Germania was planned at this location. The governor of Germania, at least temporarily, likely had resided here. The settlement appears to have been abandoned by

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1716-644: The Henkel Group , (Düsseldorf). The Rhine-Ruhr area's climate is characterized by having the warmest winters in Germany, especially its western part at the Lower Rhine area. Classified by Köppen-Geiger climate classification to be oceanic (Cfb). The area has four international commercial airports, and several smaller aerodromes for general aviation . The network of Autobahns in North Rhine-Westphalia

1794-823: The Irish Rebellion of 1798 . For further revenue, the soldiers were loaned to other places as well. Most were conscripted, with their pay going to the Landgrave. In 1789 the French Revolution began and in 1794, during the War of the First Coalition , the French Republic occupied the Left Bank of the Rhine , including part of Lower Katzenelnbogen ( Niedergrafschaft Katzenelnbogen  [ de ] , Hesse-Kassel's part of

1872-498: The State of Hesse (German: Land Hessen ), 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 Darmstadt and Kassel . With an area of 21,114.73 square kilometers and a population of over six million, it ranks seventh and fifth, respectively, among

1950-553: The north and Limburg an der Lahn in the west. All of the "on the river" suffixes are locally and, informally far beyond, omitted of these cities. The plain between the rivers Main, Rhine, and lower Neckar, and the Odenwald ridge of low mountains or very high hills is called the Ried which continues to north, across the Main, as the Wetterau. Both plains which are quite densely populated also have

2028-590: The 1866 Austro-Prussian War the states of the region allied with Austria were defeated during the Campaign of the Main . Following Prussia's victory and dissolution of the German Confederation, Prussia annexed Electoral Hesse, Frankfurt, Hesse-Homburg, Nassau and small parts of Bavaria and the Grand Duchy of Hesse, which were then combined into the Province of Hesse-Nassau . The name Kurhessen survived, denoting

2106-540: The 1960s to 1990s developed into one of the major cities of West Germany. As of 2016, 12% of the total population of Hesse lived in the city of Frankfurt. The only state to straddle west and central portions of Germany where the eight ordinal directions (compass points) and the centre is considered, Hesse borders six other states. These are, from north, clockwise: Lower Saxony , Thuringia , Bavaria , Baden-Württemberg , Rhineland-Palatinate , and North Rhine-Westphalia . The most populous towns and cities of Hesse are in

2184-593: The 19th century the city of Düsseldorf grew to become the administrative center of the region and since 1945, its political capital. Today, the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region accounts for roughly 15% of the GDP of the German economy , which would place it as the 2nd largest metropolitan area GDP in the European Union . Despite this size, the Rhine-Ruhr region as a whole often lacks international competitiveness because it lacks

2262-630: The 1st century on. Geismar was a particular focus of such activity; it was continuously occupied from the Roman period on, with a settlement from the Roman period, which itself had a predecessor from the 5th century BC. Excavations have produced a horse burial and bronze artifacts. A possible religious cult may have centered on a natural spring in Geismar, called Heilgenbron ; the name "Geismar" (possibly "energetic pool") itself may be derived from that spring. The village of Maden, Gudensberg  [ de ] , now

2340-696: The German defeat in WWI transformed Hesse-Darmstadt from a monarchy to a republic, which officially renamed itself the People's State of Hesse ( Volksstaat Hessen ). The state parliament, or Landtag consisted of 70 deputies elected on the basis of proportional representation . There were six Landtag elections between 1919 and 1932. Following the Nazi seizure of power in Berlin, the Landtag

2418-469: The Grand Duchy's Upper Hesse, was transferred to Hesse-Nassau. The former Hessian exclave of Rinteln ( Kreis Rinteln  [ de ] , the Hessian part of the former County of Schaumburg ) was also detached and transferred to the Province of Hanover . On 1 July 1944 the Prussian Province of Hesse-Nassau was formally divided into the provinces of Kurhessen and Nassau . At the same time

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2496-444: The Hessian electoral laws, the biggest party normally needs a smaller coalition partner. Rhine-Ruhr The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region ( German : Metropolregion Rhein-Ruhr ) is the largest metropolitan region in Germany , with over ten million inhabitants. A polycentric conurbation with several major urban concentrations, the region covers an area of 7,110 square kilometres (2,750 sq mi), entirely within

2574-613: The Hessians ultimately continues the tribal name of the Chatti . The ancient name Chatti by the 7th century is recorded as Chassi , and from the 8th century as Hassi or Hessi . An inhabitant of Hesse is called a "Hessian" (German: Hesse (masculine), plural Hessen , or Hessin (feminine), plural Hessinnen ). The American English term "Hessian" for 18th-century British auxiliary troops originates with Landgrave Frederick II of Hesse-Kassel hiring out regular army units to

2652-643: The Kingdom of Westphalia and the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt were dissolved and Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Hanau were restored; Orange-Nassau was also restored in its territories previously lost to Berg. As a result of the 1815 Congress of Vienna Hesse-Kassel gained Fulda (roughly the western third of the former Prince-Bishopric, the rest of which went to Bavaria and Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach ) from Frankfurt and part of Isenburg, while several of its small northern exclaves were absorbed into Hanover , some small eastern areas were ceded to Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Lower Katzenelnbogen

2730-531: The People's State of Hesse and most of what had been the Prussian Provinces of Kurhessen and Nassau. The French incorporated their parts of Hesse (Rhenish Hesse) and Nassau (as Regierungsbezirk Montabaur ) into the newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate ( Rheinland-Pfalz ) on 30 August 1946. On 4 December 1946, Greater Hesse was officially renamed Hessen . Hesse in the 1940s received more than

2808-565: The Rhine-Ruhr area differ from one another, while the officially defined border of the metropolitan area itself comprises Hamm in the east, Mönchengladbach in the west, Bonn in the south, with the small city of Wesel as its northernmost point. The northern border is similar to that of the Ruhr Area . This first unofficial table here characterizes the Rhine-Ruhr area as comprising three regions, which together constitute an area much larger than officially defined. Eurostat's Urban Audit splits

2886-558: The Rhine-Ruhr region into six Larger Urban Zones (LUZ). None of these six Urban Zones includes the cities of Remscheid and Solingen or the district of Rhein-Kreis Neuss . Historically, most of the Ruhr area was for the most part characterized by heavy industry since the age of industrialisation in the late 19th and early 20th century. Since the Middle Ages, Cologne, Dortmund, and other cities were important regional trading cities, but during

2964-750: The Romans after the devastating Battle of the Teutoburg Forest failed in the year AD 9. The Chatti were also involved in the Revolt of the Batavi in AD 69. Hessia, from the early 7th century on, served as a buffer between areas dominated by the Saxons (to the north) and the Franks , who brought the area to the south under their control in the early sixth century and occupied Thuringia (to

3042-517: The Saxons, who built fortifications in Gaulskopf and Eresburg across the river Diemel, the northern boundary of Hessia. The Büraburg (which already had a Frankish settlement in the sixth century ) was one of the places the Franks fortified to resist the Saxon pressure, and according to John-Henry Clay, the Büraburg was "probably the largest man-made construction seen in Hessia for at least seven hundred years". Walls and trenches totaling one kilometer in length were made, and they enclosed "8 hectares of

3120-444: The State of Hesse since 1946 due to divisions in the aftermath of World War II. This province is now part of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate . It is a hilly countryside largely devoted to vineyards; therefore, it is also called the "land of the thousand hills". Its larger towns include Mainz , Worms , Bingen , Alzey , Nieder-Olm , and Ingelheim . Many inhabitants commute to work in Mainz, Wiesbaden, or Frankfurt. Hesse has been

3198-501: The also previously existing Hesse-Marburg . As the latter two lines died out quite quickly (1583 and 1605, respectively), Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Darmstadt were the two core states within the Hessian lands. Several collateral lines split off during the centuries, such as in 1622, when Hesse-Homburg split off from Hesse-Darmstadt, and in 1760 when Hesse-Hanau split off from Hesse-Kassel. In the late 16th century, Kassel adopted Calvinism , while Darmstadt remained Lutheran and consequently

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3276-418: The area through various epochs. The high point of the expansion of settlement was in the early Iron Age (5th century BC). The first territorial development however began only in the 12th century; in 1146 the settlement was first mentioned in a document under the name "Werphloh". The region belonged at that time to the landgravates of Thuringia and Hesse , whereas the neighbouring Amöneburg and vast parts of

3354-463: The areas which were part of the People's State of Hesse). After World War II , the Hessian territory west of the Rhine was again occupied by France , while the rest of the region was part of the US occupation zone . On 17 September 1945 the Wanfried agreement adjusted the border between American-occupied Kurhessen and Soviet-occupied Thuringia. The United States proclaimed the state of Greater Hesse ( Groß-Hessen ) on 19 September 1945, out of

3432-427: The dative plural form of the name of the inhabitants or eponymous tribe , the Hessians ( Hessen , singular Hesse ). The geographical name represents a short equivalent of the older compound name Hessenland ("land of the Hessians"). The Old High German form of the name is recorded as Hessun (dative plural of Hessi ); in Middle Latin it appears as Hassonia , Hassia , Hessia . The name of

3510-544: The east) in 531. Hessia occupies the northwestern part of the modern German state of Hesse; its borders were not clearly delineated. Its geographic center is Fritzlar ; it extends in the southeast to Hersfeld on the river Fulda, in the north to past Kassel and up to the rivers Diemel and Weser. To the west, it occupies the valleys of the rivers Eder and Lahn (the latter until it turns south). It measured roughly 90 kilometers north–south, and 80 north-west. The area around Fritzlar shows evidence of significant pagan belief from

3588-412: The economy, and a militaristic approach toward diplomacy. He funded the depleted treasury of the poor government by loaning 19,000 soldiers in complete military formations to Great Britain to fight in North America during the American Revolutionary War , 1776–1783. These soldiers, commonly known as Hessians , fought under the British flag. The British used the Hessians in several conflicts, including in

3666-407: The federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia . The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region spreads from the Ruhr area ( Dortmund - Bochum - Essen - Duisburg ) in the north to the urban areas of the cities of Mönchengladbach , Düsseldorf (the state capital), Wuppertal , Leverkusen , Cologne (the region's largest and Germany's fourth largest city), and Bonn in the south. The location of the Rhine-Ruhr at

3744-471: The former County of Katzenelnbogen which was held by the appanage Hesse-Rotenburg ). Emperor Francis II formally recognised the annexation of the Left Bank in the 1801 Treaty of Lunéville . This led in 1803 to the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss , a substantial reorganisation ( mediatisation ) of the states and territories of the Empire. Several exclaves of Mainz were mediatised to Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Darmstadt , and Hesse-Darmstadt also gained

3822-442: The former Hessian Schmalkalden exclaves ( Landkreis Herrschaft Schmalkalden  [ de ] ), together with the Regierungsbezirk Erfurt  [ de ] of the Province of Saxony , were transferred to Thuringia . The territories of the new provinces did not directly correspond with their pre-1866 namesakes but rather with the associated NSDAP Gaue : Gau Electoral Hesse and Gau Hesse-Nassau (excluding

3900-427: The government of Great Britain to fight in the American Revolutionary War . The English form Hesse was in common use by the 18th century, first in the hyphenated names of the states of Hesse-Cassel and Hesse-Darmstadt , but the latinate form Hessia remained in common English usage well into the 19th century. The European Commission uses the German form Hessen , even in English-language contexts, due to

3978-590: The heart of the European Blue Banana makes it well connected to other major European cities and metropolitan areas such as the Randstad , the Flemish Diamond and the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region . The metropolitan area is named after the Rhine and Ruhr rivers, which are the region's defining geographical features and historically its economic backbone. The largest cities in the Rhine-Ruhr area are Cologne , with over one million inhabitants, followed by Düsseldorf , Dortmund and Essen , each of which has slightly more than 580,000. Many unofficial compositions of

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4056-441: The largest indoor arenas in Germany. The region is home to a total of 13 Bundesliga football clubs, of which five are active in the season of 2017–18. The most successful among them are Borussia Dortmund , Borussia Mönchengladbach , 1. FC Köln , FC Schalke 04 and Bayer 04 Leverkusen . The Revierderby is the rivalry between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04, one of the most significant in German football. Westfalenstadion ,

4134-434: The major cities). Some excursions, theatre and opera tickets as well as museums offer free transportation from any point in the Rhine Ruhr area to the venue and return. Duisburg Inner Harbour (Duisport) and Dortmund Port are large industrial inland ports and serve as hubs along the Rhine and the German inland water transport system. The region is host to numerous large events, comprising fun fairs and cultural events like

4212-504: The new Landgraviate of Hesse , which remained with the Ludovingians . From that point on the Ludovingian coat of arms came to represent both Thuringia and Hesse. It rose to prominence under Landgrave Philip the Magnanimous , who was one of the leaders of German Protestantism . After Philip's death in 1567, the territory was divided among his four sons from his first marriage (Philip was a bigamist ) into four lines: Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), Hesse-Darmstadt , Hesse-Rheinfels , and

4290-418: The next (for example between Düsseldorf and Duisburg or Bochum and Herne, which is unique in Germany, as the city border is crossed underground). The region is divided into several urban zones and fares are paid according to the amount of urban areas (or zones) passed through. Tickets include door to door transportation with all forms covered in one ticket with the exception of high speed rail (which only stops in

4368-426: The policy of leaving regional names untranslated. The synthetic element hassium , number 108 on the periodic table , was named after the state of Hesse in 1997, following a proposal of 1992. The territory of Hesse was delineated only in 1945, as Greater Hesse , under American occupation . It corresponds loosely to the medieval Landgraviate of Hesse . In the 19th century, prior to the unification of Germany ,

4446-416: The presence of Pleistocene hunters about 13,000 years ago. A fossil hominid skull that was found in northern Hesse, just outside the village of Rhünda, has been dated at 12,000 years ago. The Züschen tomb (German: Steinkammergrab von Züschen, sometimes also Lohne-Züschen) is a prehistoric burial monument, located between Lohne and Züschen , near Fritzlar , Hesse, Germany. Classified as a gallery grave or

4524-445: The region around Kassel. The Grand Duchy of Hesse retained its autonomy in defeat because a greater part of the country was situated south of the river Main and it was feared that Prussian expansion beyond the Main might provoke France. However, Upper Hesse (German: Oberhessen : the parts of Hesse-Darmstadt north of the Main around the town of Gießen ) was incorporated into the North German Confederation ( Norddeutscher Bund ),

4602-412: The remainder of its territory was merged with that of Nassau-Usingen and Nassau-Weilburg in August 1806 to form the Duchy of Nassau . Waldeck also joined the Confederation in 1807. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in August 1806 , rendering Hesse-Kassel's electoral privilege meaningless. Hesse-Kassel was occupied by the French in October 1806 and the remainder of Lower Katzenelnbogen was annexed to

4680-473: The sixteen German states. Frankfurt Rhine-Main , Germany's second-largest metropolitan area (after Rhine-Ruhr ), is mainly located in Hesse. As a cultural region , Hesse also includes the area known as Rhenish Hesse (Rheinhessen) in the neighboring state of Rhineland-Palatinate . The German name Hessen , like the names of other German regions ( Schwaben "Swabia", Franken "Franconia", Bayern "Bavaria", Sachsen "Saxony"), derives from

4758-465: The so-called Großer Hessenplan . The CDU gained a relative majority in the 1974 elections, but the Social Democrats continued to govern in a coalition with the FDP . Hesse was first governed by the CDU under Walter Wallmann during 1987–1991, replaced by a SPD-Greens coalition under Hans Eichel during 1991–1999. From 1999, Hesse was governed by the CDU under Roland Koch (retired 2010) and Volker Bouffier (incumbent as of 2020). Frankfurt during

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4836-413: The south-west fringe. Hesse, 42% forest, is by that measure the greenest state in Germany. Hesse is a unitary state governed directly by the Hessian government in the capital city Wiesbaden, partially through regional vicarious authorities called Regierungspräsidien . Municipal parliaments are, however, elected independently from the state government by the Hessian people. Local municipalities enjoy

4914-424: The southwest, the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Region namely Frankfurt am Main , Wiesbaden , Darmstadt , Offenbach , Hanau , Giessen , Wetzlar , and Rüsselsheim am Main . Outside, but very near the south-west corner of Hesse are four populous, highly technologised, places: Worms , Ludwigshafen , Mannheim , and Heidelberg . Other large Hessian towns are Fulda in the east , Kassel and Marburg an der Lahn in

4992-514: The stadium of Borussia Dortmund, is the biggest stadium in Germany. The area had plans to bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics, before the IOC declared Brisbane to be the host. Several tourist destinations within the region attract over 12 million tourists per year. Cologne Cathedral , Augustusburg and Falkenlust Palaces at Brühl and the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex at Essen are UNESCO World Heritage Sites . Other sights include Schloss Benrath in Düsseldorf and several anchor points of

5070-419: The state government. [REDACTED] Hesse is divided into 21 districts (Kreise) and five independent cities, each with their own local governments. They are, shown with abbreviations as used on vehicle number plates: Independent cities: The term "Rhenish Hesse" ( German : Rheinhessen ) refers to the part of the former Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt located west of the Rhine . It has not been part of

5148-416: The surrounding lands belonged to the Archbishops of Mainz . Time and again, the Hessians and Mainzers came to blows over who had ascendancy over these lands. As of the 13th century, the landgraves of Hesse further upgraded Kirchhain as a Hessian bulwark against Mainz's centre of Amöneburg so that they could control the region. Kirchhain then developed into the economic centre of the Amöneburg Basin. Kirchhain

5226-431: The terms of the Versailles peace treaty that officially ended World War I in 1919. The Kingdom of Prussia became the Free State of Prussia , of which Hesse-Nassau remained a province. In 1929 the Free State of Waldeck was dissolved and incorporated into Hesse-Nassau. In 1932 Wetzlar ( Landkreis Wetzlar  [ de ] ), formerly an exclave of the Prussian Rhine Province situated between Hesse-Nassau and

5304-454: The territory of the Houses of Solms  [ de ] , Erbach  [ de ] and Sayn-Wittgenstein ). It was also elevated by Napoleon to the status of Grand Duchy , becoming the Grand Duchy of Hesse . Orange-Nassau, which refused to join the Confederation, lost Siegen , Dillenburg , Hadamar and Beilstein to Berg and Fulda to the Prince-Primate of the Confederation (and former Elector of Mainz) Karl Theodor von Dalberg ;

5382-427: The territory of what is now Hesse comprised the territories of Grand Duchy of Hesse (also known as Hesse-Darmstadt), the Duchy of Nassau , the free city of Frankfurt , the Electorate of Hesse (also known as Hesse-Kassel), the Principality of Waldeck and the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg . The Central Hessian region was inhabited in the Upper Paleolithic . Finds of tools in southern Hesse in Rüsselsheim suggest

5460-435: The town of Amöneburg and the community of Cölbe . Besides the main centre of Kirchhain with about 8,300 inhabitants, 12 further constituent communities share another 8,900 people: In prehistoric times a network of long-distance and connecting trails crossed back and forth over the area where the town of Kirchhain was later to be founded. Since the early New Stone Age , there is evidence of almost continuous settlement in

5538-527: The town. From 1821 on, Kirchhain was the district seat ( Kreisstadt ) of the newly created Kirchhain administrative district, until this was combined with the Marburg district in 1932. As of municipal elections held on 26 March 2006, seats on town council are apportioned thus: Elections in March 2016: Kirchhain has a train station and lies on the Main-Weser Railway . Leo Strauss, Political Philosopher Hesse Hesse or Hessia ( German : Hessen [ˈhɛsn̩] ), officially

5616-500: The two lines often found themselves on opposing sides of conflicts, most notably in the disputes over Hesse-Marburg and in the Thirty Years' War , when Darmstadt fought on the side of the Emperor, while Kassel sided with Sweden and France . The Landgrave Frederick II (1720–1785) ruled Hesse-Kassel as a benevolent despot, from 1760 to 1785. He combined Enlightenment ideas with Christian values, cameralist plans for central control of

5694-631: Was ceded to Nassau. Hesse-Darmstadt lost the Duchy of Westphalia and the Sayn-Wittgensteiner lands to the Prussian Province of Westphalia but gained territory on the left bank of the Rhine centred on Mainz, which became known as Rhenish Hesse ( Rheinhessen ), and the remainder of Isenburg. Orange-Nassau, whose ruler was now also King William I of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg,

5772-572: Was ceded to Prussia but most of its territory aside from Siegen was then ceded on to Nassau. Hesse-Homburg and the Free City of Frankfurt were also restored. While the other former Electors had gained other titles, becoming either Kings or Grand Dukes , the Elector of Hesse-Kassel alone retained the anachronistic title of Prince-Elector; a request to be recognised as "King of the Chatti " ( König der Katten )

5850-526: Was formally abolished as a result of the " Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich " of 30 January 1934, which replaced the German federal system with a unitary state . The parts of Hesse-Darmstadt on the left bank of the Rhine (Rhenish Hesse), as well as those right-bank areas of Hesse-Darmstadt and Hesse-Nassau within 30 km (19 mi) of Koblenz or Mainz were occupied by French troops until 1930 under

5928-720: Was part of the Holy Roman Empire . In the 10th and 11th centuries it was mostly encompassed by the Western or Rhenish part of the stem duchy of Franconia . In the 12th century, Hessengau passed to the Landgraviate of Thuringia . As a result of the War of the Thuringian Succession (1247–1264) the former Thuringian lands were partitioned between the Wettin Margraviate of Meissen , which gained Thuringia proper, and

6006-423: Was presumably given town rights before 1348, but without any earlier documentary proof, the year 1352 has come to be seen as the official year of the town's founding. From the 15th century, the important Lange Hessen and Cologne - Leipzig trade roads made of Kirchhain a road hub and thereby spurred on the town's further economic development. Its good traffic connections, however, led to Kirchhain's being occupied

6084-539: Was rejected by the Congress. Following mediation, the Congress of Vienna had significantly fewer states remained in the region that is now Hesse: the Hessian states, Nassau, Waldeck and Frankfurt. The Kingdoms of Prussia and Bavaria also held some territory in the region. The Congress established the German Confederation , of which they all became members. Hesse-Hanau was (re-)absorbed into Hesse-Kassel in 1821. In

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