The old university town of Giessen, on the Lahn in the wide Giessen basin, is the largest town in central Hesse, with a number of important industrial plants. The great chemist Justus von Liebig, the originator of nitrogenous fertilizers and inventor of meat extract, lived and taught here from 1824 to 1852.
In Brandplatz in Giessen stands the Altes Schloss (14th C.; destroyed 1944, rebuilt 1980), now housing the picture gallery and department of applied art of the Upper Hesse Museum (furniture, sculpture, ceramics, painting from the Gothic period to the 20th C). There are other sections of the Museum in the Burgmannenhaus and in the Wallenfels'sches Haus.
The former Chemical Institute in Giessen is now occupied by the Liebig Museum, with the great chemist Justus von Liebig's original laboratories and a collection of documents.
To the northeast of Giessen's Botanic Garden can be found the Neues Schloss, a handsome 16th C. half-timbered building. Beside it is the Zeughaus (Arsenal; 1590, renovated 1958-62).
On the west side of Giessen's city center are two sections of the Upper Hesse Museum: in the Burgmannenhaus is the department of local history and folk traditions (arts and crafts, costumes, furniture), and in the neighboring Wallenfels'sches Haus the department of prehistory, the early historical period and ethnography (Stone and Bronze Ages, Roman colonization, the great migrations; Far East, Africa, America, Australia, Oceania).
The other half of the museum is in the Altes Schloss.
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