Lich, Hesse

Lich is a town in the district of Gießen, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 12 km southeast of Gießen. Lich has a population of around 13,000.

The town is located on the river Wetter halfway between Taunus and Vogelsberg; the northern and eastern parts of the town reside within the natural area of the Vogelsberg, the southern and western in the Wetterau.

The region is known to have been settled for more than 100,000 years. Tools found in several places in and around Lich were dated to the Neanderthal period, others to the Aurignacian culture, Linear Pottery culture, the Bronze Age, the Hallstatt culture and the La Tène culture. When building the Upper Germanic limes during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian the Romans built the Castrum Arnsburg, located near what is now Arnsburg Abbey. It is the most northeastern known full sized castrum along the limes. The first known mentioning of Lich dates back to 790 in the Lorsch codex. In 1300 the town was awarded market rights by Emperor Albert I of Germany. Originally belonging to the County of Hagen Münzenberg it became the property of the Counts of Falkenstein following the marriage of Isengard of Münzenberg to Philip IV of Bolanden Falkenstein. As an inheritance Lich was given to the House of Solms in the middle of the 14th century. The House of Solms split into several branches over the centuries – one of them the branch Solms Hohensolms Lich, which retains its seat in Lich. There was no significant destruction in Lich during several wars from Thirty Years' War up to World War II. In 1993, the town hosted the 33rd Hessentag state festival.

Town centre, made up largely of half timbered buildings. The most notable is the Textorhaus with its richly carved façade, today hosting the town museum. Late Gothic Marienstiftskirche (St Mary's collegiate church) with grave plates and a Baroque pulpit. Some parts of the town wall remain. Of the former fortifications the Town Tower (height 48 meters) and the Town Gate are still extant, built at the beginning of the 14th century. Castle Lich of the Fürsten (Princes) of Solms Hohensolms Lich in late Renaissance and Baroque style, surrounded by a public park. Former Cistercian Arnsburg Abbey, about five kilometers southwest of Lich. Ober Bessingen has one of the few remaining Gatehouses. Kino Traumstern (cinema) is one of the leading arthouse cinemas of Hesse; it has received several Hessian and German cultural prices over the years.

There are three elementary schools, a comprehensive school, a special school for children with learning disabilities and a nursing school associated to the Asklepios Klinik Lich. The Gießen district Volkshochschule is also located in Lich.

Lich is the home of the brewery and leading regional brand Licher (part of Bitburger Holding). The town also has more than 400 years of tradition in organ building, today represented by the Förster & Nicolaus Orgelbauanstalt and the Otto Heuss GmbH. The Hofapotheke (Court Pharmacy) was founded in 1703.