Hesse /ˈhɛs/ or Hessia (German: Hessen, Hessian dialect: Hesse ) is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.
- The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhine-Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state. The oldest and fourth largest Hessian city, Mainz, is in Rhine-Hesse.
- The State of Hesse (German: Land Hessen, literally "Country of Hesse") is part of the larger cultural region. It has an area of 21,110 km2 (8,150 sq mi) and just over six million inhabitants. The capital is Wiesbaden. Hesse's largest city is Frankfurt am Main.
The English name "Hesse" comes from the Hessian dialect. The variant "Hessia" comes from the medieval latin Hassia. The German term Hessen is used by the European Commission because their policy is to leave regional names untranslated (paragraphs 1.31 & 1.35). The term "Hesse" ultimately derives from a Germanic tribe called the Chatti, who settled in the region in the first century B.C.
An inhabitant of Hesse is called a Hessian (German: Hesse (masculine) or Hessin (feminine)) (see also Hessian (soldiers)).
Read more about Hesse: History, Geography, Administration of The State of Hesse, Rhenish Hesse, Politics, Culture, TV and Radio Stations, Economy, Traffic and Public Transportation, Death Penalty
Famous quotes containing the word hesse:
“What I always hated and detested and cursed above all things was this contentment, this healthiness and comfort, this carefully preserved optimism of the middle classes, this fat and prosperous brood of mediocrity.”
—Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)
“Every age, every culture, every custom and tradition has its own character, its own weakness and its own strength, its beauties and cruelties; it accepts certain sufferings as matters of course, puts up patiently with certain evils. Human life is reduced to real suffering, to hell, only when two ages, two cultures and religions overlap.”
—Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)
“In each individual the spirit is made flesh, in each one the whole of creation suffers, in each one a Savior is crucified.”
—Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)