Kassel

From World travel guide

Kassel is the regional "capital" of North Hesse in Germany and has a population of about 200 000.

1 Understand
- 1.1 History
2 Get in
3 Get around
4 See
5 Do
6 Buy
7 Eat
8 Drink
9 Sleep
10 Get out
11 External links

Understand

History

Kassel has been first mentioned around 900 AD. Since then it has always been a provincial capital for the realms of North Hesse or Kur-Hesse.

During the 30 years war Kassels Landgraf Philipp declared for the protestants. This had an effect as later numerous Hugenots emigrated from France and brought with them their trade and skills. The impact of the Hugenots can still be witnessed in the centre of Kassel where streets are named after Hugenots.

Kassel became a considerable industrial and scientific city as can still be seen in the Orangerie museum where loads of scientific kit from the enlightenment period is on show. Noticeably the first steam pot producing a fountain was constructed in Kassel by Papin and rumors have it that he left Kassel in his steam boat a few years before James Watt got his prototype into shape.

Kassel was already a heavy industries site by WW2, where trains, tanks and planes were constructed. In the later years of the war Kassel was thoroughly bombed by English and American planes.

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Get in

The best way to reach Kassel is by train since most of the Inter-City-Express trains and plenty of local trains stop at the Kassel-Wilhemshöhe station.

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Get around

From the Station, trams leave towards the town centre and one can easily walk to the Bergpark which is visible from where the trams leave. And while you are at it, don't miss out to have an italian ice-cream somewhere on the way to the park.

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See

Herkules and Bergpark.
Schloss with its old masterpieces of art.
Orangerie and Karlsaue
Documenta art exhebition(every 5 years only, next summer 2007)
Friedericianum - museum

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Do

Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe. Worth visiting is the "Bergpark" (Mountainpark) which is supposedly the largest in Europe and second largest park on a mountain slope in the world. The park contains the Herkules statue at its top end which is towering over the city and has become its symbol. Further the park contains loads of smaller features which are mainly fake greek temples, fake medival castles, fake querries - you see where we are getting ... Not fake though are the Rembrandts and Rubens paintings in the Schloss in the park - an entrance fee is charged. The Park also features during summer months the Wasserspiele (watergames) every Wednesday and Saturday starting from 3pm. Various of the features such as the Cascades (below the Herkules statue), the fake waterfall and the fake Roman Aqueduct have their water supplies opened for half an hour or so each and the crowd of tourists will move from feature to feature starting on the higher parts moving downslope.

The Centre of Kassel itself has been thoroughy destroyed during WW2 and was rebuilt in a post-war fashion - ugly. Hence, the inner city is mainly dominated by bank and mall buldings of the modern sort. However, in walking distance from the main high street, you can reach the Karlsaue, another, french style park with some old buildings containing all sort of museums (tapstries to astrology). That area is also the usual place for the Documenta art exhibition to happen every five years.

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