 Map of Germany showing Kassel Watershed of the river Weser Kassel [ˈkasl̩] (until 1926 officially Cassel) is a city in central Germany. Situated on the Fulda River in northern Hesse in western-central, Kassel is the capital of the Kassel administrative region (Regierungsbezirk) and of the district of the same name. The city of Kassel has 194,146 inhabitants (2003). Kassel covers an area of 106.77 square kilometers. Geographic location 51° 18' North, 9° 30' East.
History
Allegedly Kassel is identical to the ancient Castellum Cattorum, the castle of the Catti, a German tribe, which was the source of the present name.
Kassel is first mentioned in 913 as the place where two deeds had been signed by king Conrad of Franconia. The place was called Chasella and was a fortification at a bridge crossing the Fulda River. A deed from the year 1189 certifies that Kassel had city rights. The exact date of their grant is not known.
In 1567 the landgraviate of Hesse was devided among four heirs, and Hesse-Kassel was one of its successor states. Kassel was the capital and became a centre of Protestantism in Germany. Strong fortifications were built in order to protect the Protestant stronghold from Catholic invaders. In 1685 Kassel became a refuge for 1700 Huguenots who found shelter in the newly established borough of Oberneustadt. Landgrave Charles of Hesse-Kassel who was responsible for this humanitarian act, also ordered the erection of the Oktogon and the construction of the Orangerie (see sights).
In the beginning of the 19th century the Brothers Grimm lived in Kassel and wrote their fairy tales. At this time (1803) the landgravate of Hesse-Kassel was elevated to an electorate, but shortly after it was annexed by Napoleon. In 1807 Kassel became the capital of the short-lived kingdom of Westphalia, but in 1813 the electorate was restored.
The electorate was annexed by Prussia in 1866, having sided with Austria in the war for supremacy in Germany. The Prussian administration united Nassau, Frankfurt and Hesse-Kassel in order to form the new province of Hesse-Nassau. Kassel ceased to be a city in which a ruler resided, but the Prussian lordship saw the beginnings of the city's industrialisation.
In 1870 after the Battle of Sedan Napoleon III was sent as a prisoner to the castle of Wilhelmshöhe above the city.
During World War II, on the night of October 22/23, 1943, 569 British bombers razed Kassel (see: Bombing of Kassel in World War II), destroying 90% of the city centre: some 10,000 people died in the raid, causing a firestorm comparable to the one which occurred in Hamburg in July 1943. By far most of the casualties were civilians or wounded whereas Kassel's heavy weapon industrial complexes survived the attack mostly unharmed. The attack on the city, once famous for its old town, was covered by a feint attack on Frankfurt am Main, commencing five minutes before the raid on Kassel. The attack included one of the most accurate target markings since the Hamburg firestorm raid. The marking was first exceeded during the devastating raid on Darmstadt in late 1944. On the night of the Kassel firestorm raid RAF Bomber Command introduced Operation Corona to confuse the German nightfighters, making the raid a complete success, and leaving the city literally destroyed, rendering 150,000 people homeless.
After the war most of the ancient buildings were not restored, and large parts of the city centre was completely rebuilt in the style of the 1950s. Historical buildings such as the Museum Fridericianum however where restored.
There is a famous legend among Kassel citizens claiming that the city was close to becoming the provisional capital of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. It is true that the interim parliament ("Parlamentarischer Rat") was at that time considering a new location for the capital, since Berlin was then a special administrative state controlled directly by the allies and surrounded by the Russian zone of occupation. So many cities were proposed to host the federal government, but Kassel was eliminated in the first round. Most of the members (as well as the U.S. Supreme Command) favoured Frankfurt am Main where the Hessian administration had already started the construction of a plenary assembly hall. In the end Bonn won after Chancellor Adenauer intervened emphatically for Bonn which was only fifteen kilometers away from his hometown.
Twinning
Kassel is twinned with
Sights
"Wilhelmshöher Allee" towards Habichtswald Park 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 50s of the 20th century.
More historic buildings survive outside the 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 some more sights can be found. The Oktagon is a huge octagonal stone structure surmounted by a replica of the 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 in 1870/71 Napoléon III was imprisoned in the Wilhelmshöhe. In 1918 Wilhelmshöhe became seat of the OHL: there the military commanders Hindenburg and Ludendorff prepared the German capitulation.
Another large park is the Karlsaue on the Fulda River. This park, established in the 16th century, is famous for the Orangerie, a large palace built in 1710 as a summer residence for the landgraves. Today there is also a planetarium in the park.
 The Oktagon above the city Kassel is scene of the Documenta, an 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).
Miscellaneous
In 1558 the first German observatory was built in Kassel, followed in 1604 by the Ottoneum, the first permanent theatre building, and in 1779 by Europe's first public museum, named the Museum Fridericianum after its founder. By the end of the 19th century the museum held one of the largest collections in the world of watches and clocks.
Famous inhabitants of Kassel include Jerome Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte; the Brothers Grimm; Paul Reuter; and Philipp Scheidemann.
External links
- Kassel City Panoramas (http://www.panorama-cities.net/kassel/kassel.html) - Panoramic views and Virtual Tours
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