Hesse[a] orHessen[b] (German:Hessen[ˈhɛsn̩]ⓘ), officially theState of Hesse (German:Land Hessen), is astate inGermany. Its capital city isWiesbaden, and the largesturban area isFrankfurt, which is also the country's principalfinancial centre. Two other major historic cities areDarmstadt andKassel. With an area of 21,114.73 square kilometers and a population of over six million, it ranks seventh and fifth, respectively, among the sixteen German states.Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Germany's second-largest metropolitan area (afterRhine-Ruhr), is mainly located in Hesse.
The German nameHessen, like the names of other German regions (Schwaben "Swabia",Franken "Franconia",Bayern "Bavaria",Sachsen "Saxony"), derives from the dative plural form of the name of the inhabitants oreponymous tribe, the Hessians (Hessen, singularHesse). The geographical name represents a short equivalent of the older compound nameHessenland ("land of the Hessians"). TheOld High German form of the name is recorded asHessun (dative plural ofHessi); inMiddle Latin it appears asHassonia,Hassia,Hessia. The name of the Hessians ultimately continues the tribal name of theChatti.[8] The ancient nameChatti by the 7th century is recorded asChassi, and from the 8th century asHassi orHessi.[9]
An inhabitant of Hesse is called a "Hessian" (German:Hesse (masculine), pluralHessen, orHessin (feminine), pluralHessinnen). TheAmerican English term"Hessian" for 18th-century British auxiliary troops originates with LandgraveFrederick II ofHesse-Kassel hiring out regular army units to the government of Great Britain to fight in theAmerican Revolutionary War.
The English formHesse was in common use by the 18th century, first in the hyphenated names of the states ofHesse-Cassel andHesse-Darmstadt, but the latinate formHessia remained in common English usage well into the 19th century.[10][11][12]
The Central Hessian region was inhabited in theUpper Paleolithic. Finds of tools in southern Hesse in Rüsselsheim suggest the presence of Pleistocene hunters about 13,000 years ago. Afossil hominid skull that was found in northern Hesse, just outside the village of Rhünda, has been dated at 12,000 years ago. TheZüschen tomb (German: Steinkammergrab von Züschen, sometimes also Lohne-Züschen) is a prehistoric burial monument, located betweenLohne andZüschen, nearFritzlar, Hesse, Germany. Classified as a gallery grave or a Hessian-Westphalian stonecist (hessisch-westfälische Steinkiste), it is one of the most importantmegalithic monuments in Central Europe. Dating toc. 3000 BC, it belongs to the LateNeolithicWartberg culture.[citation needed]
An earlyCeltic presence in what is now Hesse is indicated by a mid-5th-century BCLa Tène-style burial uncovered atGlauberg. The region was later settled by theGermanicChatti tribe around the 1st century BC, and the nameHesse is a continuation of that tribal name.[citation needed]
Theancient 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 the Romans after the devastatingBattle of the Teutoburg Forest failed in the year AD 9. The Chatti were also involved in theRevolt of the Batavi in AD 69.[citation needed]
Hessia, from the early 7th century on, served as a buffer between areas dominated by theSaxons (to the north) and theFranks, who brought the area to the south under their control in the early sixth century and occupiedThuringia (to the east) in 531.[16] Hessia occupies the northwestern part of the modern German state of Hesse; its borders were not clearly delineated. Its geographic center isFritzlar; it extends in the southeast toHersfeld on the river Fulda, in the north to pastKassel 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.[17]
The area around Fritzlar shows evidence of significant pagan belief from 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 ahorse burial and bronze artifacts. A possible religious cult may have centered on a natural spring in Geismar, calledHeilgenbron; the name "Geismar" (possibly "energetic pool") itself may be derived from that spring. The village ofMaden, Gudensberg [de], now a part ofGudensberg 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 tallquartzitemegalith called theWotanstein is at the center of the village.[18]
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, includingChristenberg.[19] By 690, they took direct control over Hessia, apparently to counteract expansion by the Saxons, who built fortifications inGaulskopf andEresburg across the river Diemel, the northern boundary of Hessia. TheBüraburg (which already had a Frankish settlement in the sixth century[20]) 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 a spur that offered a commanding view over Fritzlar and the densely-populated heart of Hessia".[21]
Following Saxon incursions into Chattish territory in the 7th century, twogaue had been established; a Frankish one, comprising an area aroundFritzlar andKassel, and a Saxonian one. In the 9th century, the SaxonHessengau also came under the rule of the Franconians.[22]
It rose to prominence under LandgravePhilip the Magnanimous, who was one of the leaders of GermanProtestantism. After Philip's death in 1567, the territory was divided among his four sons from his first marriage (Philip was abigamist) into four lines:Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel),Hesse-Darmstadt,Hesse-Rheinfels, and the also previously existingHesse-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, whenHesse-Homburg split off from Hesse-Darmstadt, and in 1760 whenHesse-Hanau split off from Hesse-Kassel. In the late 16th century, Kassel adoptedCalvinism, while Darmstadt remainedLutheran and consequently the two lines often found themselves on opposing sides of conflicts, most notably in the disputes over Hesse-Marburg and in theThirty Years' War, when Darmstadt fought on the side of the Emperor, while Kassel sided withSweden andFrance.[citation needed]
Coat of arms of Hesse-Darmstadt
The LandgraveFrederick II (1720–1785) ruled Hesse-Kassel as a benevolent despot, from 1760 to 1785. He combinedEnlightenment ideas with Christian values,cameralist plans for central control of the economy, and a militaristic approach toward diplomacy.[23] He funded the depleted treasury of the poor government by loaning 19,000 soldiers in complete military formations toGreat Britain to fight in North America during theAmerican Revolutionary War, 1776–1783. These soldiers, commonly known asHessians, fought under the British flag. The British used the Hessians in several conflicts, including in theIrish 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.[citation needed]
As a result of theGerman campaign of 1813 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.[citation needed]
As a result of the 1815Congress of Vienna Hesse-Kassel gained Fulda (roughly the western third of the former Prince-Bishopric, the rest of which went toBavaria andSaxe-Weimar-Eisenach) from Frankfurt and part of Isenburg, while several of its small northernexclaves were absorbed intoHanover, some small eastern areas were ceded to Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Lower Katzenelnbogen was ceded to Nassau. Hesse-Darmstadt lost the Duchy of Westphalia and the Sayn-Wittgensteiner lands to thePrussianProvince of Westphalia but gained territory on the left bank of the Rhine centred on Mainz, which became known asRhenish Hesse (Rheinhessen), and the remainder of Isenburg. Orange-Nassau, whose ruler was now also KingWilliam I ofthe Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg, was ceded to Prussia but most of its territory aside from Siegen was then ceded on to Nassau. Hesse-Homburg and theFree City of Frankfurt were also restored.[citation needed]
While the other former Electors had gained other titles, becoming either Kings orGrand Dukes, the Elector of Hesse-Kassel alone retained the anachronistic title of Prince-Elector; a request to be recognised as "King of theChatti" (König der Katten) was rejected by the Congress.[citation needed]
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 theGerman Confederation, of which they all became members. Hesse-Hanau was (re-)absorbed into Hesse-Kassel in 1821.[citation needed]
In the 1866Austro-Prussian War the states of the region allied withAustria were defeated during theCampaign 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 theProvince of Hesse-Nassau. The nameKurhessen survived, denoting 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 riverMain 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 ofGießen) was incorporated into theNorth German Confederation (Norddeutscher Bund), 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 theFranco-Prussian War, the whole of the Grand Duchy joined theGerman Empire.[citation needed]
Around the turn of the 20th century, Darmstadt was one of the centres of theJugendstil. Until 1907, the Grand Duchy of Hesse used the Hessian red and white lionbarry as its coat-of-arms.[citation needed]
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 Mainzwere occupied by French troops until 1930 under the terms of theVersailles peace treaty that officially ended World War I in 1919. The Kingdom of Prussia became theFree State of Prussia, of which Hesse-Nassau remained a province.[citation needed]
AfterWorld War II, the Hessian territory west of the Rhinewas again occupied by France, while the rest of the region was part of theUS occupation zone. On 17 September 1945 theWanfried agreement adjusted the border between American-occupied Kurhessen andSoviet-occupied Thuringia. The United States proclaimed the state ofGreater Hesse (Groß-Hessen) on 19 September 1945, out of 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 (asRegierungsbezirk Montabaur) into the newly founded state ofRhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) on 30 August 1946.[citation needed]
On 4 December 1946, Greater Hesse was officially renamedHessen.[24]Hesse in the 1940s received more than a milliondisplaced ethnic Germans.
The first elected minister president of Hesse wasChristian Stock, followed byGeorg-August Zinn (bothSocial Democrats). The German Social Democrats gained an absolute majority in 1962 and pursued progressive policies with the so-calledGroßer Hessenplan. TheCDU gained a relative majority in the 1974 elections, but the Social Democrats continued to govern in a coalition with theFDP. Hesse was first governed by the CDU underWalter Wallmann during 1987–1991, replaced by a SPD-Greens coalition underHans Eichel during 1991–1999. From 1999, Hesse was governed by the CDU underRoland Koch (retired 2010) andVolker Bouffier (incumbent as of 2020).Frankfurt during 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.[citation needed]
Other large Hessian towns areFulda in theeast,Kassel andMarburg an der Lahn in thenorth andLimburg 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 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 theEder and moreover its distributary theFulda draining most of the north, theLahn in the centre-west and, as to those navigable by large vessels, theMain and very broadRhine in the south. The countryside is hilly and the topographical map, inset, names 14 short, low to medium-height mountain ranges including theRhön, theWesterwald, theTaunus, theVogelsberg, theKnüll and theSpessart. 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 inBaden-Württemberg) is theOdenwald. Forming a mid-eastern tiny projection into mostly Thuringia is the uppermost part of theUlster, commanding the west valley side of which is the Hessian highest point,Wasserkuppe at 950m above sea level – in the Rhön.
Hesse is aunitary state governed directly by theHessian government in the capital city Wiesbaden, partially through regional vicarious authorities calledRegierungspräsidien. Municipal parliaments are, however, elected independently from the state government by the Hessian people. Local municipalities enjoy a considerable degree ofhome rule.
The state is divided into three administrative provinces (Regierungsbezirke):Kassel in the north and east,Gießen in the centre, andDarmstadt in the south, the latter being the most populous region with theFrankfurt Rhine-Main agglomeration in its central area. The administrative regions have no legislature of their own, but are executive agencies of the state government.
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:
The term "Rhenish Hesse" (German:Rheinhessen) refers to the part of the former Grand Duchy ofHesse-Darmstadt located west of theRhine. It has not been part of the State of Hesse since 1946 due to divisions in the aftermath of World War II. This province is now part of the State ofRhineland-Palatinate. It is a hilly countryside largely devoted to vineyards; therefore, it is also called the "land of the thousand hills". Its larger towns includeMainz,Worms,Bingen,Alzey,Nieder-Olm, andIngelheim. Many inhabitants commute to work in Mainz, Wiesbaden, or Frankfurt.[citation needed]
Hesse has been a parliamentary republic since 1918, except duringNazi 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-rightChristian Democratic Union (CDU) or the center-leftSocial Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Due to the Hessian electoral laws, the biggest party normally needs a smaller coalition partner.[citation needed]
After the 2023 election, the coalition government in Hesse changed from a Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Alliance 90/The Greens coalition to an agreement between the CDU and Social Democratic Party.[26]
In the2018 state elections the two leading parties, CDU and SPD, lost 11.3% (7 seats) and 10.9% (8 seats) of the vote respectively. The Green party, a member of Hesse's previous governing coalition with CDU, gained 8.7% (16 seats). The largest gains during the election were made byAlternative for Germany (AfD) at 13.1%. As AfD had not passed the 5% threshold in the2013 state election, this marked its first entry into theHessian parliament (Hessischer Landtag). The two other parties also made gains. The major losses of the two leading parties (whosecoalition made up the federal cabinet during the election) closely mirrors the results of the2018 state elections in Bavaria. In the 2018-2023 parliament, the conservative CDU held 40 seats, the centre-left SPD and the leftist Green party each held 29 seats, the right-wing AfD held 19 seats, the liberalFDP party held 11 seats and the socialist partyThe Left held 9 seats.[citation needed]
As a member state of the German federation, Hesse does not have a diplomatic service of its own. However, Hesse operates representation offices in such foreign countries as the United States, China, Hungary, Cuba, Russia, Poland, and Iran. These offices are mostly used to represent Hessian interests in cultural and economic affairs. Hesse has also permanent representation offices in Berlin at thefederal government of Germany and inBrussels at theinstitutions of the European Union.[28]
The flag colors of Hesse are red and white, which are printed on a Hessian sack. The civil flag of Hesse resembles that ofMonaco's and, particularly,Indonesia's. TheHessian coat of arms shows a lion rampant striped with red and white (silver), on a blue field. The official anthem of Hesse is called "Hessenlied" ("Song of Hesse") and was written by Albrecht Brede (music) and Carl Preser (lyrics).[29]
Hesse has a population of over 6 million,[33] nearly 4 million of which is concentrated in the Rhein-Main region (German:Rhein-Main Gebiet) in the south of the state, an area that includes the most populous city,Frankfurt am Main, the capitalWiesbaden, andDarmstadt andOffenbach.[30] The population of Hesse is predicted to shrink by 4.3% by 2030, with the biggest falls in the north of the state, especially in the area around the city ofKassel. Frankfurt is the fastest growing city with a predicted rise in population of 4.8% by 2030.[34] Frankfurt's growth is driven by its importance as a financial centre and it receives immigrants from all over the world: in 2015 over half of the city's population had amigration background.[35]
Three different languages or dialect groups are spoken in Hesse: The Far North is part of theLow Saxon language area, divided into a tinyEastphalian and a largerWestphalian dialect area. Most of Hesse belongs to theWest Middle German dialect zone. There is some disagreement as to whether all Hessian dialects south of theBenrath line may be subsumed under one dialect group: Rhine Franconian, or whether most dialects should be regarded as a dialect group of its own: Hessian, whereas only South Hessian is part of Rhine Franconian. Hessian proper can be split into Lower Hessian in the north, East Hessian in the East aroundFulda and Central Hessian, which covers the largest area of all dialects in Hesse. In the extreme Northeast, theThuringian dialect zone extends into Hesse, whereas in the Southeast, the state border toBavaria is not fully identical to the dialect border betweenEast Franconian and East Hessian.
Since approximately World War II, a spoken variety ofStandard German with dialect substrate has been superseding the traditional dialects mentioned so far. This development knows a north-to-south movement, the north being early to supplant the traditional language, whereas in the south, there is still a considerable part of the population that communicates in South Hessian. In most of the areas, however, the traditional language is close to extinction, whereas until the first half of the 20th century, almost the entire population spoke dialect in almost all situations. The Upper Class started to speak Standard German beginning in the late 19th century, so for decades, the traditional language served as a sociolect.[citation needed]
In a 2011 study of the region, German sociologist of religion and theologianMichael N. Ebertz and German television presenter and authorMeinhard Schmidt-Degenhard concluded that "Six religious orientation types can be distinguished: 'Christians'—'non-Christian theists'—'Cosmotheists'—'Deists,Pandeists andPolytheists'—'Atheists'—'Others'“.[39]
Darmstadt has a rich cultural heritage as the former seat of theLandgraves andGrand Dukes of Hesse. It is known as centre of theArt NouveauJugendstil and modern architecture and there are also several important examples of 19th century architecture influenced by British and Russian imperial architecture due to close family ties of the Grand Duke's family to the reigning dynasties inLondon andSaint Petersburg in theGrand Duchy period. Darmstadt is an important centre for music, home of theDarmstädter Ferienkurse forcontemporary classical music[43] and the Jazz Institute Darmstadt, Europe's largest public jazz archive.[44]
Frankfurt am Main is a major international cultural centre. Over 2 million people visit the city's approximately 60 exhibition centres every year.[45] Amongst its most famous art galleries are theSchirn Kunsthalle, a major centre for international modern art,[46] and theStädel, whose large collections include over 3000 paintings, 4000 photographs, and 100,000 drawings including works byPicasso,Monet,Rembrandt andDürer.[47]Goethe was born in Frankfurt and there is a museum in hisbirthplace. Frankfurt has many music venues, including an award-winningopera house, theAlte Oper, and theJahrhunderthalle. Its several theatres include the English Theatre, the largest English-speaking theatre on the European continent.[48]
Kassel has many palaces and parks, includingBergpark Wilhelmshöhe, a Baroque landscape park and UNESCO World Heritage site.[49] TheBrothers Grimm lived and worked in Kassel for 30 years and the recently opened Grimmwelt museum explores their lives, works and influence and features their personal copies of theChildren's and Household Tales, which are on the UNESCO World Heritage "Memory of the World" Document register.[50] TheFridericianum, built in 1779, is one of the oldest public museums in Europe.[51] Kassel is also home to thedocumenta, a large modern art exhibition that has taken place every five years since the 1950s.[52]
The Hessian Ministry of the Arts supports numerous independent cultural initiatives, organisations, and associations as well as artists from many fields including music, literature, theatre and dance, cinema and the new media, graphic art, and exhibitions. International cultural projects aim to further relations with European partners.[53]
From an archaeological point of view, the old watercourses of Hesse provide evidence of the wider history of the landscape and their protection has required cooperation.[54]
The Hessian state broadcasting corporation is called HR (Hessischer Rundfunk). HR is a member of the federalARD broadcasting association. HR provides a statewide TV channel as well as a range of regional radio stations (HR 1, HR 2, HR 3, HR 4, you fm and HR info). Besides the state run HR, privately run TV stations exist and are an important line of commerce. Among the commercial radio stations that are active in Hesse, Hit Radio FFH, Planet Radio, Harmony FM, Radio BOB and Antenne Frankfurt are the most popular.
With Hesse's largest cityFrankfurt am Main being home of theEuropean Central Bank (ECB), theGerman Bundesbank and theFrankfurt Stock Exchange, Hesse is home to the financial capital of mainland Europe. Furthermore, Hesse has always been one of the largest and healthiest economies in Germany. ItsGDP in 2013 exceeded €236 billion (about US$316 billion).[65] This makes Hesse itself one of the largest economies in Europe and the 38th largest in the world.[66] According to GDP-per-capita figures, Hesse is the wealthiest state (after thecity-statesHamburg andBremen) in Germany with approx. US$52,500.
Specialised metallurgical industry focused onplatinum metals has been represented byHeraeus andUmicore and magnetic materials have been a focus ofVacuumschmelze based inHanau. Also inHanau there used to be a plant producing nuclear fuel (classical uranium, but alsoMOX fuel), but the production has stopped and the facility has been mothballed.Heraeus continues to manufacture irradiation sources fromCobalt andIridium.
In the mechanical and automotive engineering fieldOpel in Rüsselsheim is worth mentioning. After acquisition Opel byStellantis, it is in rapid decline of production and employment. Which has also negative effect on automotive parts supplier,Continental will close a plant inKarben and cut jobs at other location in Hesse. In northern Hesse, inBaunatal,Volkswagen AG has a large factory that manufactures spare parts, not far-away from it there is also aDaimler Truck plant, which produces an axes.
Vistec produceselectron-beam lithography systems for semiconductor industry inWeilburg, also there is manufacturing of inspection, testing and measurement equipment for semiconductor fabrication process fromKLA-Tencor.Leica Microsystems manufactures different types of microscopes, inclusive they with special light microscopic optics, which are used in wafer and photo mask testing. PVA TePla fromWettenberg is specialist for crystal growing process (Si, Ge, GaAs, GaP, InP) withCzochralski Process,Float-Zone Process,High-Temperature Chemical Vapor Deposition, Vertical Gradient Freeze equipment, quality inspection apparatus, plasma and vacuum machine.ABB Robotics is inFriedberg. Satisloh is a machine manufacturer inWetzlar for the production of lenses and components for the optical industry.
The company operatingFrankfurt Airport is one of the largest employers in Hesse with nearly 22,000 employees.[67] Aerospace cluster contains alsoRolls-Royce's aviation engine work inOberursel andAPU manufacturing plant and service center ofHoneywell inRaunheim.
Companies with an international reputation are located outside the Rhine-Main region inWetzlar. There is the center of the optical, electrical and precision engineering industries,Leitz,Leica,Minox, Hensoldt (Zeiss) andBrita with several plants in central Hesse.
Oculus Optikgeräte manufacturesScheimpflug tomographs for examining the anterior segment of the eye, topographers for measuring the anterior surface of the cornea, tonometers for assessing the biomechanical properties of the cornea, a wide-angle observation system for vitreous body surgery, universal trial goggles for subjective refraction, various perimeters for visual field testing and vision testing devices for testing eyesight.
Many IT and telecommunications companies are located in Hesse, many of them in Frankfurt and Darmstadt, likeSoftware AG (Darmstadt),T-Systems (Frankfurt and Darmstadt),Deutsche Telekom (laboratories in Darmstadt),DB Systel (Frankfurt),Lufthansa Systems (Raunheim near Frankfurt) andDE-CIX (Frankfurt).
Beverage industry is well-developed and manufactures sparkling wine (Sekt), white wine (Riesling), mineral waters (Selters), beers (Radeberger) andcider.
The leather industry was predominantly based inOffenbach, but is now extinct, existing only in museums. The same happened with Frankfurt's fur industry and Hanau's jewelry industry.
TheHochtaunuskreis has the lowest unemployment rate at 3.8% while the independent city of Kassel has the highest rate nationally at 12.1%.[68] In October 2018 the unemployment rate stood at 4.4% and was lower than the national average.[69]
Hesse has a dense highway network with a total of 24 motorways. The internationally important motorway routes through Hesse are the A3, A5, and A7. Close to Frankfurt Airport is theFrankfurter Kreuz, Germany's busiest and one of Europe's busiest motorway junctions, where the motorwaysA3 (Arnhem-Cologne-Frankfurt-Nuremberg-Passau) andA5 (Hattenbach-Frankfurt-Karlsruhe-Basel) intersect. The A5 becomes as wide as four lanes in each direction near the city of Frankfurt am Main, and during the rush-hour, it is possible to use the emergency lanes on the A3 and A5 motorway in theRhine-Main Region, adding additional lanes. Other major leading Hesse highways are theA4, theA44, theA45, the Federal HighwayA66 and theA67. There are also a number of smaller motorways and major trunk roads, some of which aredual carriageways.
Hesse is accessed by many major rail lines, including the high-speed linesCologne–Frankfurt(op.speed 300 km/h) andHanover–Würzburg. Other north-south connections traverse major east–west routes from Wiesbaden and Mainz to Frankfurt and from Hanau and Aschaffenburg to Fulda and Kassel. The Frankfurt Central Station is the most important hub for German trains, with over 1,100 trains per day.[71]
The region around Frankfurt has an extensiveS-Bahn network, theS-Bahn Rhein-Main, which is complemented by many regional train connections. In the rest of the country, the rail network is less extensive. Since 2007, the region around Kassel has been served by theRegioTram, atram-train-concept similar to theKarlsruhe model.
^Gudmund Schütte,Our forefathers : The Gothonic nations : A manual of the ethnography of the Gothic, German, Dutch, Anglo-Saxon, Frisian and Scandinavian peoples, vol. 2 (1933),p. 191Archived 6 April 2023 at theWayback Machine.
^Christian Presche,Kassel im Mittelalter: Zur Stadtentwicklung bis 1367 vol. 1 (2013),p. 41Archived 13 April 2023 at theWayback Machine.
^"The Hessians, called, in the early history of Germany, Catti, lived in the present Hessia".The Popular Encyclopedia: Or, Conversations Lexicon vol. 3 (1862), p. 720. Occasional English use ofHessia is found until the present day, e.g. P. J. J. Welfens,Stabilizing and Integrating the Balkans, Springer Science & Business Media (2001),p. 119.Archived 6 April 2023 at theWayback Machine
^"Names and symbols of transfermium elements (IUPAC Recommendations 1997)".Pure and Applied Chemistry. 69.12 (1997), p. 2471.doi:10.1351/pac199769122471.
^"Bruttoinlandsprodukt".Volkswirtschaftliche Gesamtrechnungen (in German). Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt. 2012. Archived fromthe original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved27 March 2013.
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