Hesse

Hesse (German: Hessen) is a state in west-central Germany with a population of approximately 6.4 million people. It is defined by the sharp contrast between the heavily urbanised Rhine-Main region in the southwest - a major European financial and transport hub - and the rest of the state, which is largely rural and hilly. With 40 per cent of its silver-fir, beech, and oak forests, Hesse is one of Germany's most densely wooded states. Outside the main metropolitan areas like Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, the landscape is dotted with volcanic massifs like the Vogelsberg and numerous medieval half-timbered towns that characterize the region's architecture.