Live music, culture and plenty of treats: As always, the Giessen city festival offers a colourful programme. You can get home comfortably by bus. On Saturday, 19 August and Sunday, 20 August, Stadtwerke Giessen is expanding its timetable. The city of Giessen is also offering free public transport in the city area on both days.
Giessen will be celebrating from 18 to 20 August. Tens of thousands of people will flock to the city centre, dance to open-air music, experience an exciting cultural programme, enjoy food and drink and cheer on the athletes at the Giessen city run "Run 'n' Roll for Help". Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) will ensure a comfortable journey home late at night - with an extended timetable: From Friday to Saturday and from Saturday to Sunday there will be an additional departure. At 00:30, several lines will start at the Marktplatz stop, including buses on line 1 to Lützellinden and Rödgen, line 2 to Eichendorffring, line 3 to Friedhof and Schwarzacker, line 5 to Wieseck and line 7 to Philosophenwald and Evangelisches Krankenhaus. Passengers travelling to Weststadt can take line 800, while those wanting to get to Rathenaustraße, Petersweiher or Sandfeld can simply take the regular taxi service. SWG uses spacious articulated buses on lines 1, 2 and 5 to ensure that the many passengers have enough space.
Venus and Saturn night buses
The Venus and Saturn night buses start at Berliner Platz during the festival weekend. They run on Friday and Saturday nights from 00:30 to 04:30. The Saturn line serves the south and east of the city with a stop in Kleinlinden. The Venus line takes passengers to the railway station and to the north and west of Giessen as far as Wieseck. If you want to continue to Rödgen, Allendorf and Lützellinden, take a connecting taxi. This runs from the Waldstadion stop to Rödgen and from the Waldweide stop in the direction of Allendorf and Lützellinden.
Free public transport
"Those who plan their journeys by bus will save time and nerves on the festival weekend and get safely to the city centre and back home again. It's convenient and inexpensive," says Anne Müller-Kreutz, Head of Local Transport Services at SWG, describing the advantages of public transport. This year, visitors will not only be able to get to the centre of the festivities safely and without having to search for a parking space by bus. The city of Giessen is also offering free public transport on Saturday and Sunday for all journeys in the city area or between Giessen and Heuchelheim in the 1501 fare zone. "So the motto is: just leave your car at the weekend and use the bus service," recommends Anne Müller-Kreutz.
Those travelling to Giessen by car from the surrounding area will also benefit from the offer: the supermarkets Rewe and Lidl in Grünberger Straße as well as Edeka Wieseck in Greizer Straße and Edeka in Frankfurter Straße will open their car parks on Sunday. From here, passengers can change to the bus at the nearby bus stops. "To avoid waiting times, I advise everyone to take a look at the timetable before travelling," adds Anne Müller-Kreutz. The RMV ticket prices apply on Friday. The group day ticket is particularly favourable. It allows up to five people to travel as often as they like in fare zone 1501 - i.e. throughout Giessen - for 8.80 euros.
Run 'n' Roll for Help: Diversion on Sunday
Due to the Giessen city run "Run 'n' Roll for Help" on 20 August, line 5 in the direction of the railway station and line 12 to Berliner Platz will run on a diversion route between around 12 noon and 8.00 pm. The buses on line 5 in the direction of the railway station will run from the "Landgericht" stop via Moltkestraße and Grünberger Straße. They will therefore stop at Berliner Platz instead of at the Behördenzentrum as usual.
Line 12 will take an alternative route from the "Steinstraße" stop via Nordanlage, Neustadt, Marktplatz and Neuen Bäue to the "Berliner Platz" stop. The stops "Landgericht" and "Behördenzentrum" will be cancelled in this direction. The stops "Nordanlage", "Oswaldsgarten", "Marktplatz" and "Berliner Platz" will be served as replacements. Buses on routes 5 and 12 in the direction of Wieseck or Sandfeldschule will run on the usual route.
Information on the phone and on the Internet
Further information on the timetables can be obtained by calling 0641 708-1400, on the Internet at www.swg-verkehr.de or at the mobility centre in the Stadtwerke Gießen customer centre on Marktplatz. Current opening hours until Friday, 14 August: Monday to Friday 13:00 to 18:00.