Hanau

City in Hessen, Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Kinzig and the Main, 18 km/11 mi east of Frankfurt am Main; population (1994) 88,900. Hanau has jewellery and diamond-cutting trades, rubber and stainless steel production.

Although a settlement had long existed on the site, Hanau was officially founded in 1597 by Dutch and Walloon Huguenots, who established woollen and silk industries here. In 1813 it was the scene of a defeat of the Austrians and Bavarians by the French troops of Napoleon I. There are several old churches and a 16th-century Rathaus (town hall). Hanau was the birthplace of the brothers Grimm.