What makes Hessen so unique? Our team of authors set out to find out. As journalists, they researched, read, listened and looked - on site. Their findings are therefore personally coloured, and the joy of discovery always resonates. The result is a portrait of a federal state that is constantly being shaken up and stimulated by new impulses like no other. Because no-one in Central Europe has ever been able to avoid Hessen. This was true for the legions of the Romans as well as for Huguenots, displaced persons from the German East or refugees from Syria and Ukraine. They all brought new and unfamiliar things with them. In Hessen, people have learned to deal with contrasts, to channel them and make them fruitful. This has resulted in unique successes in business and science, but above all a high level of tolerance towards those who think differently. Diversity is part of the DNA here.