Hanau

 

(hä'nou) , city (1994 pop. 89,160), Hesse, central Germany, on the Main and Kinzig rivers. It is an important rail and road junction and is a center of the German jewelry industry. Other manufactures include rubber goods and precious metal works. Hanau was chartered in 1303 and in the 16th cent. accepted refugees from the Low Countries who contributed significantly to the city's economic growth. Hanau passed to Hesse-Kassel in 1736, and with it to Prussia in 1866. The philologists Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm and the composer Paul Hindemith were born in Hanau. The town has been rebuilt with historical standards in mind, after near-complete demolition in World War II.

Hanau
Coat of arms	Location
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Admin. region	Darmstadt
District	Main-Kinzig-Kreis
Lord Mayor	Claus Kaminsky (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	km² ( sq mi)
Elevation	m  (341 ft)
Population	Please give "Stand or population_as_of" in YYYY-MM-DD format , e. g. 2005-12-31
- Density	/km² ( /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST ([[UTC+1]]/[[UTC+2|+2]])
Licence plate	HU
Postal codes	63450, 63452, 63454 63456, 63457
Area code	06181
Website	www.hanau.de Coordinates: 50°08′″N 08°55′″E / Expression error: unexpected / operator, Expression error: unexpected / operator

Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main.

Geography

Districts

City center Lamboy Kesselstadt Großauheim Klein-Auheim

Mittelbuchen Steinheim Wolfgang Hohe Tanne Wilhelmsbad

History

Hanau was first boural mentioned in 1143 and became a city in 1303.

At the end of the 16th century, Count Philipp Ludwig II allowed Protestant refugees from the Netherlands to found their own settlement near Hanau, to which these Walloons brought their knowledge of jewellery production. For this reason goldsmiths are still educated there. In the 19th century the Neustadt (New Town), as it was called, was merged with Hanau.

In the 19th century Hanau was a centre of the German democratic movement and contributed significantly both in 1830 and in the Revolution of 1848. Also in 1848 the German Gymnastic League (Turnerbund) was founded here.

During World War II Hanau was almost completely destroyed by British airstrikes in March 1945 a few days before it was taken by the US Army.

Nowadays many inhabitants work in the technological industry (VAC, Heraeus) or commute to Frankfurt. Frankfurt International Airport is only 30km away.

Population

• Hanau is the 6th largest town in Hesse. Having recently lost its status as administrative centre of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis (Main-Kinzig district) to Gelnhausen, proposals have been made, that Hanau should form its own administrative district.
• More than 20% of the inhabitants are foreign nationals.

Twin towns

Hanau has twinned with 8 others towns:

• Dartford, United Kingdom
• Tottori, Japan
• Yaroslavl, Russia
• Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, France
• Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
• Francheville, Rhône, France
• Doorn, Netherlands

In addition it is associated with two other towns:

• Francheville, Thuringia, Germany
• Pays de Hanau, France

Sights

• The German House of Goldsmiths (Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus)
• Philippsruhe Castle
• Health Establishment at Hanau-Wilhelmsbad
• St Mary's Church (Marienkirche)
• Dutch-Walloon Church (Niederländisch-Wallonische Kirche)

Historische Kuranlage Hanau-Wilhelmsbad

Philippsruhe Castle of Hanau

Lion at the Philippsruhe Castle

German House of Goldsmiths (old town hall of Hanau)

Famous persons

• The Brothers Grimm (Brüder Grimm) collected many German fairy tales and started work on the German Glossary.
• Tayfur Havutçu, Turkish footballer
• Paul Hindemith, composer
• Rudi Völler, football/soccer world champion 1990 and coach of the German national team, when it was runner-up in 2002.
• Wilhelm Wagenfeld, Designer (1900-1990)
• Mike Minnix, USAF & Aviation (1962 - )

Sports

• Turngemeinde 1837 Hanau a.V. (TGH), one of the oldest of Germany's sports clubs
• Hanauer Rudergesellschaft 1879 e.V. (HRG), one of Germany's oldest rowing clubs
• 1.Hanauer FC 1893 e.V. (Hanau '93), Hesse's oldest football/soccer club

External links

• Official site (German)
• HanauOnline Webzine (German)
• Staatliche Zeichenakademie Hanau (Hanau State Academy) (German)
• U.S. Army in Hanau

Towns and municipalities in Main-Kinzig-Kreis district
Bad Orb | Bad Soden-Salmünster | Biebergemünd | Birstein | Brachttal | Bruchköbel | Erlensee | Flörsbachtal | Freigericht | Gelnhausen | Großkrotzenburg | Gründau | Hammersbach | Hanau | Hasselroth | Jossgrund | Langenselbold | Linsengericht | Maintal | Neuberg | Nidderau | Niederdorfelden | Rodenbach | Ronneburg | Schlüchtern | Schöneck | Sinntal | Steinau an der Straße | Wächtersbach

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