RUSSELSHEIM

city, Hesse Land (state), in west-central Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Main River between Mainz and Frankfurt am Main. Founded by the Frankish prince Ruzilo as Rusilesheim (Ruzilo's home), it belonged to the counts of Katzenelnbogen from 1300, was chartered in 1437, passed to the landgraves of Hesse in 1479, and fell to the Hesse-Darmstadt line in 1567. The town hall dates from 1604, and there are a museum and a technical school in the city. The Opel automobile plant is the principal industry. Pop. (1991 est.) 59,430.