The 'central offices' of the Department of Geography are located in the most beautiful building in Giessen, the so called 'Neues Schloss' ('New Castle' in Senckenbergstr. 1). Landgrave Philipp the ‘Magnanimous’ had the new castle constructed between 1533 and 1539. From 1650 onwards it served as the university chancellery as well as the local courthouse. The castle was restored between 1899 and 1907 and has represented the seat of the Department of Geography at Justus-Liebig University since 1965.
Two seminar rooms (NeS-S1, Ne-S2) is also located here. Being the largest seminar room of the Department (NeS-S1), it is naturally not only used for lectures, but also for other events (e.g. conferences, receptions) and celebrations (e.g. the Geoball). Located on the first floor of the castle are the offices of three professors and their staff.
Schlossgasse
Further rooms are situated in another building approximately 60 meters away, in Schlossgasse 7. Offices of three of the six professors and their staff have been accommodated here on the upper floors. Situated on both of the lower floors are geo informatics, remote sensing, two computer rooms, a seminar room, and the cartography.
Zeughaus
Directly next to the castle is the 'Zeughaus', which originally served as the landgraves’ chamber for armaments, and currently houses various institutes of the university from different faculties. The Department of Geography also uses the large theatre here for lectures. The Department's library is situated on the ground floor of the ‘Zeughaus’.
Didactics of Geography
The Department of Geography Education is situated within the area of the campus Philosophikum II (Karl-Glöckner-Straße 21G, 35394 Gießen) on the outskirts of Gießen, south-east of the centre between Schiffenberger Weg and Licher Straße. The buildings put up in the 1960s are surrounded by greens and forest which provides a pleasant atmosphere. The Philosophikum can be reached by bike via a signposted cycle path within 10 minutes from the city centre or 7 minutes from the main building of the university (Ludwigstraße). Especially beneficial for students of pedagogy is the fact that numerous didactical departments of other sciences (for example Biology, English, German, French, History, Religion, Arts) as well as the departments for general pedagogical education (Sociology, Psychology and Pedagogy) are nearby. This allows classes to be close together and study halls.
Courses of study for teaching at primary schools (L1), secondary schools (L2), schools for physically and / or mentally handicapped children (L5), and German high schools (L3) can be taken at the Department for Geography Education. Most of the didactical courses take place in the rooms of House G (which houses the Department of Geography Education).
The department possesses a well equipped stock of schoolbooks and atlases. Another highlight of the department is the collection with more than 300 pieces of stones and numerous geographical mock-ups for demonstration purposes in class.
After the successful completion of studies and having obtained the certificate of the first state examination, students have the possibility to receive a doctoral degree (doctor of philosophy or natural sciences).
