Kassel: Germany

Kassel: Germany
Kassel (until 1926 officially Cassel) is a city situated on the Fulda River in northern Hesse in western-central Germany. Kassel is the administrative seat of the Kassel administrative region (Regierungsbezirk) and of the district (Kreis)of the same name. The city has 194,146 inhabitants (2003) and covers an area of 106.77 square kilometers. Geographic location 51°18′ N 9°30′ E.
Sightseeing in Kassel
Due to the destruction of 1943, the city was almost completely rebuilt in the 1950s. Hence there are very few old buildings in the centre. The oldest monument is the “Druselturm�. The “Brüderkirche� and the St. Martin Church are also in part of medieval origin, but the towers of St. Martin are from the 1950s.
What historic buildings have survived are mainly outside the center of town. Wilhelmshöhe Palace, above the city, was built in 1786 by landgrave Wilhelm IX of Hesse-Kassel. The palace is surrounded by a park where more sights can be found. The Oktagon is a huge octagonal stone structure surmounted by a replica of Hercules by Benvenuto Cellini. The Löwenburg (“Lions Castle�) is a replication of a medieval castle, also established by Wilhelm IX. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 Napoléon III was imprisoned in Wilhelmshöhe. In 1918 Wilhelmshöhe became seat of the German Army Command (OHL): it was there that the military commanders Hindenburg and Ludendorff prepared the German capitulation.
Another large park is the Karlsaue along the Fulda River. Established in the 16th century, it is famous for the Orangerie, a palace built in 1710 as a summer residence for the landgraves. Today there is also a planetarium in the park.
Documenta, an important international exhibition of modern and contemporary art. Museums include: Wilhelmshöhe Palace (Antiquities Collection and Old Masters’), Museum für Sepulkralkultur (the only German Museum of the culture of funerals); Art Gallery (Albrecht Dürer, Rubens, Rembrandt, Franz Hals, Antoon van Dyck), New Gallery (Tischbein Family, Joseph Beuys).