A region and former grand duchy of west-central Germany. In medieval times the territory was expanded west to the Rhine River and south to the Main River, but after 1567 it was divided into four separate regions ruled by various branches of the Hesse family.
German-born Swiss writer whose works, including Siddhartha (1922) and Steppenwolf (1927), concern the duality of human existence and the alienation of the artist. He won the 1946 Nobel Prize for literature.