Bessungen

Stadtteil of Darmstadt

Coat of arms

Bessungen

Location of Bessungen within Darmstadt

Coordinates: 49°51′28″N 8°39′4″E / 49.85778°N 8.65111°ECoordinates: 49°51′28″N 8°39′4″E / 49.85778°N 8.65111°E

Country

City

Area

• Total

5.53 km² (2.14 sq mi)

Population (2011-03-31)

• Total

13,059

• Density

2,400/km² (6,100/sq mi)

Time zone

CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)

Postal codes

64285, 64295

Dialling codes

06151

Bessungen is a district in the South of the city of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany.

Until 1888 Bessungen was a separate municipality. Bessungen is known as "the oldest part of Darmstadt", and was first mentioned in writings in 1002. It was probably founded earlier, in about the 5th Century by the Alemanni.

There are foothills of the Middle Odenwald in the southeast of the district. The Saubachgraben forms the southern boundary of the district. East of the low-Ramstädter street is the Darmstadt Ostwald and fields. West of the district are homes and heading North to the Darmstadt city center is terrain flat, these districts are part of the Upper Rhine Plain.

Old preserved village homes and peasant courtyard are near to high-rise development of 19th and 20th Century. The Bessunger church is at the center of the Bessungen district, with the old village buildings, that runs along the Ludwigshöh road. On the Heidelberg Road and the Moosbergstraße road one finds the stately homes of the early days. Also in the Bessungen district is the old Darmstadt cemetery, the Campus Lichtwiese of Technischen Universität Darmstadt and at Böllenfalltor sports facilities. South of Bessungen district is the Heidelberg road go to Eberstadt . The Orangerie and the Mosersche garden are highlights of Bessungen district.

Archaeological finds indicate that Bessungen was settled in the 4th or 5th Century. Bessungen of an Alemanni origin. Bessungen means "for the people of Bezzo", Bezzo is a modified word form of “Bernhard”. Bernhard was probably an Alemannic nobility, whose allegiance settled the village of Bessungen. As Bessungen was at the crossroads of Roman roads in medieval times. The Bessunger Church was founded in 1002. On the date of 10 June 1002 is the first written mention Bessungens. In this document of Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, at that time with the royal court Gerau, wrote about Bessungens, the Bishopric of Bamberg and the Bishopric of Worms. In 1479 the city officially became known as Bessungen, by inheritance. The Thirty Year War was hard on Bessungen. In January 1635, the city was burned down by French troops almost completely. Only a few houses remained standing. The surviving inhabitants fled behind the walls of the Darmstadt, where many of them died of the plague. By the end of the war in 1648 only about 30 people were left in Bessungen, who set then out to rebuild the community. By the beginning of the 18th Century Bessungen has fully recovered. Due to population grow in 1875 Darmstadt and Bessungen grew together to be one city. Grand Duchy of Hesse opened a headquarters center in Darmstadt and Bessungen experienced a growth in population again. On 1 April 1888 Bessungen was incorporated after negotiations with Darmstadt. During World War II Bessungen was largely spared from mass damage.

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Wikipedia