Notable Figures from Giessen - A Stroll

Here on the Kanzleiberg, we’ll be learning about Georg Büchner, Ludwig Börne, Carl Vogt, and Wilhelm Liebknecht. The plaques provide further information about each of these figures.

We’ll continue on to the second stop. To get there, we turn the corner and enter the Old Castle (check opening hours!). Here, in the Netanya Hall, we see the next notable figure from Giessen: Dr. Avraham Bar Menachem. Here, too, we take a closer look at the plaque and perhaps wander around the Old Castle a bit more.

After leaving the Old Palace, we turn right across Brandplatz toward the Armory. Here we’ll see the next two figures at our third stop: Helge Pross and Horst-Eberhard Richter. Not only are the informational plaques worth a look, but so are the New Castle and the Armory buildings.

Now we’ll take a short walk down Senkenbergstraße, past the Herrmann-Hoffmann Institute (be sure to check out the dinosaurs, too), and then turn right onto Ostanlage. A few steps into the park along Ostanlage, you’ll see another head that has no direct connection to the “Giessen Heads,” but which also belonged to an important figure here in Giessen: Justus Liebig. Originally, a statue of Liebig stood here, but it was damaged during World War I and then dismantled in the postwar period; only the head remained, which later also threatened to crumble. A new metal head now commemorates the monument and this important figure.

We continue along the Ostanlage (either through the park or along the sidewalk by the street). We cross the Neue Bäue at the traffic light and walk past the City Theater into Theaterpark, past the Röntgen monument (yes, Röntgen, who invented X-rays. The sculpture depicts X-rays penetrating matter) and continue on to the fourth station. Here you’ll find: Hein Heckroth, Hermann Levi, and Hugo von Ritgen. After a break in the park, we continue on.

After a few meters, we turn right and head toward Plockstraße. Here is the fifth stop, featuring Margarete Bieber, Hedwig Burgheim, and Agnes von Zahn-Harnack. Now we have a great opportunity to grab a bite to eat at one of the many local spots before continuing on.

Let’s head to the last stop before we start our return journey. We walk back a short distance to Johannesstraße, turn right, and then, in front of Johanneskirche, turn left onto Goethestraße. We’ll cross the Anlagenring at the traffic light and follow Goethestraße past part of Justus Liebig University until we reach the corner where Lessingstraße branches off to the right. Right on that corner stands the next figure at the sixth and final stop: Toni Hämmerle.

If you’d like, you can end the tour here and go your own way. Everyone else walks back down Goethestraße toward downtown—with the new catchy tune “Humba Täterä” stuck in their heads—passing the Johanneskirche. As you pass by, take a moment to admire the church and its unique, colorful stained-glass windows. Continue straight ahead to Seltersweg. Turn right there and walk to the Kugelbrunnen. Don’t forget to glance to the right along the way so you don’t miss the “Drei Schwätzer” as they chat. At the Kugelbrunnen, turn right onto Sonnenstraße, passing the Watering Can Museum and the entrance to the Botanical Garden, and head back to the starting point.