GIESSEN, a town of Germany, capital of the province of Upper Hesse in the Land of Hesse. It is situated at the conflu ence of the Wieseck with the Lahn, 41 m. N.N.W. of Frankfort on-Main on the railway to Cassel. Pop. 35,898. Giessen was formed in the 12th century out of the villages Selters, Aster and Kroppach, for whose protection Count William of Gleiberg built the castle of Giessen. The town came, in 1203, into the possession of the count palatine, who sold it in 1265 to the land grave Henry of Hesse. It was fortified in 153o but in 1805 the walls were demolished. In the old part of the town the streets are narrow and irregular. The principal buildings are the Stadt kirche, the provincial government offices, comprising a portion of the old castle dating from the 12th century, and the town-hall (containing an historical collection). The university, founded in 1607 by the landgrave of Hesse, has a library, a botanic garden, an observatory, medical schools, a museum of natural history, a chemical laboratory and an agricultural college. The industries include metal founding and the manufacture of rubber articles, machines, leather, tobacco and beer.