Hanau

Goldsmiths' House (Hanau old town hall)

Coat of arms

Hanau

Location of Hanau within Main-Kinzig-Kreis district

Coordinates: 50°08′0″N 08°55′0″E / 50.13333°N 8.91667°ECoordinates: 50°08′0″N 08°55′0″E / 50.13333°N 8.91667°E

Country

Government

• Lord Mayor

Claus Kaminsky (SPD)

Area

• Total

76.49 km² (29.53 sq mi)

Population (2015-12-31)

• Total

92,643

• Density

1,200/km² (3,100/sq mi)

Time zone

CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)

Postal codes

63450, 63452, 63454 63456, 63457

Dialling codes

06181

Vehicle registration

Website

www.hanau.de

Nationality	Population (2011)
Largest groups of foreign residents
Turkey	8,010
Italy	1,917
Poland	943
Serbia & Montenegro	647
Bosnia	560
Spain	560

Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction and it has a port on the river Main, making it an important transport centre. Hanau is known for being the birthplace of Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm and Franciscus Sylvius. Since the 16th century it was a centre of precious metal working with many goldsmiths. It is home to Heraeus, one of the largest family-owned companies in Germany.

In 1963, the town hosted the third Hessentag state festival. Until 2005, Hanau was the administrative centre of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis.

The historic core of Hanau is situated within a semicircle of the river Kinzig which flows into the river Main just west of the town. Today, after a substantial expansion during the 19th and 20th centuries it also extends to the river Main and after a restructuring of municipal borders within Hesse in the 1970s a couple of nearby villages and towns were incorporated. After this change, Hanau for the first time also extended to the south bank of the Main river.

The name is derived of "Hagenowe" which is a composition out of "Haag" (wood) and "Aue" (open land by the side of a river).

As a place of settlement Hanau was first mentioned in 1143. Then it was the site of a castle which used the waters of the river Kinzig as a defense. The castle belonged to a noble family, calling themselves "of Hanau" since the 13th century. Starting from this castle a village developed and became a town in 1303. As a result of this history, the main church of Hanau stood outside its walls in the village of Kinzdorf. The villagers moved into the town, Kinzdorf became an abandoned village leaving only the church. Only in the 15th century was the status of the Hanau parish church transferred to the church of Mary Magdalene within the town walls.

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Wikipedia