Editing Giessen (section)

==History==
Giessen came into being as a moated castle in 1152 built by [[Count Wilhelm von Gleiberg]],<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Giessen|volume=12|page=4}}</ref> although the history of the community in the northeast and in today's suburb called "Wieseck" dates back to 775. The town became part of [[Hesse-Marburg]] in 1567, passing to [[Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt|Hesse-Darmstadt]] in 1604. The [[University of Giessen]] was founded in 1607. Giessen was included within the [[Grand Duchy of Hesse]] created in 1806 during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. After the [[First World War]], it was part of the [[People's State of Hesse]].

{{anchor|Allied air attack}}During the [[Second World War]], a subcamp of the [[Buchenwald concentration camp]] was in the [[commons:Category:Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Gießen|Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Licher Straße]].<ref>Edward Victor. [http://www.edwardvictor.com/Holocaust/Giessen.htm ''Alphabetical List of Camps, Subcamps and Other Camps.'']</ref><ref>[http://www.tenhumbergreinhard.de/05aaff9bed0fa4003/05aaff9bfd089e02d/index.html 1933-1945 Lager G]. Tenhumberg Reinhard. Retrieved 2014-08-03.</ref><ref>[http://www.lagis-hessen.de/de/subjects/idrec/sn/nstopo/id/2314 Hessian Regional History Information System (LAGIS)]</ref> Heavy bombing destroyed about 75 percent of Giessen in 1944, including most of the town's historic buildings. It became part of the modern state of Hesse after the war.

In 1977, Giessen was merged with the neighbouring city [[Wetzlar]] to form the new city of [[Lahn, Hesse|Lahn]]. However, this attempt to reorganize the administration was reversed in 1979. It was part of the [[Darmstadt (region)|Darmstadt region]] (regierungsbezirk) between 1945 and 1981, until the [[Giessen (region)]] was founded on 1 January 1981.

A U.S. military base was located in Giessen after the Second World War. The U.S. Army Garrison of Gießen had a population of up to 10,000 American soldiers and their families. Gießen was also the site of the central US army depot for all of Europe as well as the site of a special ammunition depot.<ref>[https://www.giessener-allgemeine.de/giessen/us-depot-mythen-reportage-fuehrung-12053967.html ''Das US-Depot als Ort der Mythen: Reportage und Führung'']. Gießener Allgemeine, 27. Juli 2015 (German)</ref> The base is a converted German Army Air Field which is reflected in some of the buildings including the housing area. A theatre, known as the Keller Theatre, is a converted German Army Officers' Club. As of 28 September 2007, the Giessen Depot and all other U.S. facilities in the greater Giessen area were returned to local German authorities. The former U.S. Army buildings were used to house refugees after the large influx of 2016.

After the war, the city was [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with [[Winchester]], UK.<ref name="Giessen-Folds-Up">{{cite web| url = http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,153028,00.html| title = USAG Giessen Folds Up Tent| access-date = 2008-05-08
}}</ref>

{| class="infobox" style="float:right;"
|colspan="2"|'''Largest groups of foreign residents'''
|-
|-\
!Nationality || Population (2011)
|-
|{{flag|Turkey}} || 1,922
|-
|{{flag|Greece}} || 569
|-
|{{flag|Italy}} || 425
|-
|}