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Hessen

A German State

Well done! You've reached Hessen...

Hessen is a German state.

Hessen	Wiesbaden
The Theatre	Lebkuchen

Hessen

Germany is divided into 16 different states, and Hessen is one of them.
It's around the same size as County Tipperary in Ireland - in fact, if you flip Tipperary over, it's the same shape as Hessen!
They're even situated in the same part of the country as each other, towards the south west.
Click on the images below to make them larger

The State of Hessen		County Tipperary

Many people in Hessen are very concerned about the environment. The people there are very careful about sorting their rubbish out in separate rubbish bins and they take extra-special care to monitor litter-bugs in the street.

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Wiesbaden

Wiesbaden is the capital of Hessen.
The government of Hessen is based in Wiesbaden. This government makes the laws for that state. Even though Berlin is the capital of Germany, the government of each state has the power to make laws. Do you think this is different to the way it is in Ireland?

It has approximately 275,000 inhabitants; compare this with Limerick and its 100,000 inhabitants.
Wiesbaden is a wealthy city; the houses are a little larger, the prices a little higher, the cars a little more expensive and the antiques a little older.

Wiesbaden is famous for its hot springs. People come from far away to taste the water from these springs. It tastes strange but it is supposed to be very good for you!
The healing powers of these springs were already known to the ancient Romans, who gave their settlement the name 'Aquae Mattiacorum'.
26 saltwater springs, including the 66 degrees Celsius Kochbrunnen, provide a constant daily supply of approximately two million cubic metres of water!

This is a picture of the 'Nero Brunnen'. The water from the hot springs is available inside the gazebo. Many of the places in the city where water is available look very like this.

Neroberg is a hill in Wiesbaden. It is a very beautiful place where people go to in order to get a good view of the city.

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The Theatre

As mentioned earlier, Wiesbaden is quite a cultured city. Many people who live there like to go to the theatre.
There is a beautiful theatre there called 'Hessisches Staatstheater' - this simply means the state theatre of Hessen.
When I was in Germany, I got a chance to go to the theatre with many lucky children. 400 children from the Rudolf-Dietz-Schule in Naurod, Wiesbaden, brought me to the theatre with their teachers.
We went to see a play called Jim Knopf. Do you know what 'knopf' means? Here are three options!

(a) button

(b) coat

(c) pen

The story of Jim Knopf is a lovely one. It's about three people who live on an island with a talking train! All I'll tell you is that it's lots of fun and that they set off on many great adventures. You might see it some day, so I don't want to spoil the story for you!

Originally the characters were puppets. You could put on your own plays using puppets...

You need: socks, PVA glue, pieces of coloured card, some wool, cardboard, lots of imagination!

Collect some old socks that are missing the other half of their pair...Talk to your friends about making your very own play. You could make up your own story, or take an old stoary. Give everybody a sock and a character. Then start designing what your character is going to look like! Use whatever you can find - coloured paper, wool, pipe cleaners etc. and stick on with PVA glue. Get a large cardboard and cut the bottom and top out of it. Use this as your 'stage'. Put this on a high table, gather an audience, crouch down behind the table and perform your play for your friends... you'll get a great round of applause!

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Lebkuchen

Have a look at the picture at the top of the page.

These are called 'Lebkuchen'. 'Kuchen' is the German word for cake.
They are sort of a Christmas gingerbread. They are made with syrup or honey and lots of spices, including cinnamon, cardamom and allspice. They are then coated with chocolate or sugar icing.
They are common in lots of German states, but particularly in the south-west of the country and especially in Hessen. If you are ever in Germany around Christmas-time, you should try them... they're delicious!

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