About the City

About 75,000 inhabitants currently live in Giessen. According to German standards, Giessen is therefore a medium-sized city. The 23,000 students studying in Giessen constitute a large part of the population and are always present in the city's cultural and leisure life.

Giessen offers a variety of cultural and leisure activities. The Stadttheater offers theater, opera, and ballett. International troops appear in the Kongresshalle. In addition, there are some small theaters, gallerys, music bars. Cinemas show present-day movies made in Europe and the USA in German, sometimes also in the English language.

A variety of restaurants, bistros and coffee bars offer regional and international dishes. Giessen also offers a variety of attractive shops, from large department stores to small boutiques.

There are quite a few museums in Giessen. The Oberhessische Museum presents collections of paintings, exhibits on the history of Giessen, archeology.

In the Liebig-Museum one can visit the rooms where Liebig worked and taught (still unchanged). In the nearby Mathmaticum one may experience wonder by observing various scientific experiments.

The botanic garden gives place for rest in the middle of the modern city.

Giessen is home to a swimming centre with indoor and outdoor facilities. There are many opportunities to do sports in Giessen, e.g. tennis and squash. The metropolitan area of Giessen offers some beautiful lakes that invite for swimming, surfing, and waterski.

Various sights in the surrouding area are easily accessible by foot or bus and train. E.g. there is the ruin of the Kloster Schiffenberg, where summer concerts are hosted. At the Badenburg, one can today find a restaurant, that serves dishes "nach Ritterart". Wetzlar (Goethe), Darmstadt, Marburg and Frankfurt are within easy reach by train.