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Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the
Fulda River The Fulda () is a river of Hesse and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is one of two headstreams of the Weser (the other one being the Werra). The Fulda is long. The river arises at Wasserkuppe in the Rhön mountains in Hesse. From there it runs north ...
in northern
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are ...
, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the
Regierungsbezirk A ' () means "governmental district" and is a type of administrative division in Germany. Four of sixteen ' ( states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts. Saxony has ' (directorate districts) with more res ...
Kassel and the
district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...
of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020. The former capital of the state of
Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the L ...
has many palaces and parks, including the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, which is a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
. Kassel is also known for the ''
documenta ''documenta'' is an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. The ''documenta'' was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultural ...
'' exhibitions of contemporary art. Kassel has a public university with 25,000 students (2018) and a multicultural population (39% of the citizens in 2017 had a migration background).


History

Kassel was first mentioned in 913 AD, as the place where two
deed In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferrin ...
s were signed by King Conrad I. The place was called ''Chasella'' or ''Chassalla'' and was a fortification at a bridge crossing the
Fulda river The Fulda () is a river of Hesse and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is one of two headstreams of the Weser (the other one being the Werra). The Fulda is long. The river arises at Wasserkuppe in the Rhön mountains in Hesse. From there it runs north ...
. There are several yet unproven assumptions of the name's origin. It could be derived from the ancient ''Castellum Cattorum'', a castle of the Chatti, a German tribe that had lived in the area since Roman times. Another assumption is a portmanteau from Frankonian ''cas'', meaning "valley or recess," and ''sali'' meaning "hall or service building," which can be interpreted as "(town)hall in a valley." A deed from 1189 certifies that Cassel had city rights, but the date when they were granted is not known. In 1567, the Landgraviate of Hesse, until then centered in
Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximat ...
, was divided among four sons, with
Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the L ...
(or Hesse-Cassel) becoming one of its successor states. Kassel was its capital and became a centre of
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...
Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
in Germany. Strong fortifications were built to protect the Protestant stronghold against Catholic enemies. Secret societies, such as Rosicrucianism flourished, with Christian Rosenkreutz's work '' Fama Fraternitatis'' first published in 1617. In 1685, Kassel became a refuge for 1,700
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
s who found shelter in the newly established borough of Oberneustadt. Landgrave Charles, who was responsible for this humanitarian act, also ordered the construction of the ''Oktogon'' ( Hercules monument) and of the '' Orangerie''. In the late 18th Century, Hesse-Kassel became infamous for selling mercenaries ( Hessians) to the British crown to help suppress the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
and to finance the construction of palaces and the Landgrave's opulent lifestyle. In the early 19th century, the
Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among th ...
lived in Kassel. They collected and wrote most of their fairy tales there. At that time, around 1803, the Landgraviate was elevated to a Principality and its ruler to ''
Prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the princ ...
''. Shortly after, it was annexed by
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
and in 1807 it became the capital of the short-lived Kingdom of Westphalia under Napoleon's brother Jérôme. The Electorate was restored in 1813. Having sided with Austria in the
Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
to gain supremacy in Germany, the principality was annexed by
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
in 1866. The Prussian administration united
Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
,
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
and Hesse-Kassel into the new Prussian province of
Hesse-Nassau The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944. Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 by combining the ...
. Kassel ceased to be a princely residence but soon developed into a major industrial centre, as well as a major railway junction.
Henschel & Son Henschel & Son (german: Henschel und Sohn) was a German company, located in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting vehi ...
, the largest railway
locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...
manufacturer in Germany at the end of the nineteenth century, was based in Kassel. In 1870, after the
Battle of Sedan The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, ...
,
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...
was sent as a prisoner to the Wilhelmshöhe Palace above the city. During World War I the German military headquarters were located in the Wilhelmshöhe Palace. In the late 1930s Nazis destroyed Heinrich Hübsch's
Kassel Synagogue The Kassel Synagogue is the description given to a succession of prayer houses of the Jewish community in Kassel, Hesse. Construction in 1839 In 1827, a previous synagogue was closed due to its dilapidated state. In 1828, the government offe ...
. During World War II, Kassel was the headquarters for Germany's
Wehrkreis The military districts, also known in some English-language publications by their German name as Wehrkreise (singular: ''Wehrkreis''), were administrative territorial units in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. The task of military dis ...
IX, and a local subcamp of
Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...
provided forced labour for the Henschel facilities, which included tank production plants. The most severe
bombing of Kassel in World War II The Kassel World War II bombings were a set of Allied strategic bombing attacks which took place from February 1942 to March 1945. In a single deadliest raid on 22–23 October 1943, 150,000 inhabitants were bombed-out, at least 6,000 people di ...
destroyed 90% of the downtown area, and some 10,000 people were killed and 150,000 were made homeless. Most of the casualties were civilians or wounded soldiers recuperating in local hospitals, whereas factories survived the attack generally undamaged.
Karl Gerland Karl Gerland (14 July 1905 – 21 April 1945) was a Nazism, Nazi ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Electoral Hesse, Gau Kurhessen and ''Oberpräsident'' of the Prussian Province of Kurhessen. On 21 April 1945, Gerland was killed in action against the Soviet R ...
replaced the regional
Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or '' Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to '' Reichsleiter'' and to ...
,
Karl Weinrich Karl Otto Paul Weinrich (2 December 1887 – 22 July 1973) was a Nazi Party official and politician who was ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Kurhessen. Early life Weinrich was born in Molmeck (today, Hettstedt) the son of a shoe manufacturer. After attendi ...
, soon after the raid. The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Kassel at the beginning of April 1945. The US 80th Infantry Division captured Kassel in bitter house-to-house fighting during 1–4 April 1945, which included numerous German panzer-grenadier counterattacks, and resulted in further widespread devastation to bombed and unbombed structures alike. Post-war, most of the ancient buildings were not restored, and large parts of the city area were completely rebuilt in the style of the 1950s. A few historic buildings, however, such as the Museum Fridericianum (see below), were restored. In 1949, the interim parliament (" Parlamentarischer Rat") eliminated Kassel in the first round as a city to become the provisional capital of the
Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
(
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
won). In 1964, the town hosted the fourth '' Hessentag'' state festival (again in 2013). In 1972 the Chancellor of West Germany Willy Brandt and the Prime Minister of the German Democratic Republic Willy Stoph met in Wilhelmshöhe Palace for negotiations between the two German states. In 1991 the central rail station moved from "Hauptbahnhof" ( en, main station) (today only used for regional trains) to "Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe". The city had a dynamic economic and social development in the recent years, reducing the unemployment rate by half and attracting many new citizens so that the population has grown constantly.


Economy

Several international operating companies have factories or headquarters in the city (Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, SMA, Wintershall, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, Rheinmetall, Bombardier). The city is home of several hospitals; the public Klinikum Kassel is one of the largest hospitals in the federal state, offering a wide range of health services.


Geography

Kassel is the largest city in the north of the
federated state A federated state (which may also be referred to as a state, a province, a region, a canton, a land, a governorate, an oblast, an emirate or a country) is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federation. Such sta ...
of Hesse in the south-western part of Germany, about 70 kilometers northwest of the geographic center of Germany. It is located on both sides of the river Fulda. Kassel's deepest point is in the north-eastern Fulda valley at 132.9 m above sea level. The urban area of Kassel is divided into 23 local districts, each of which has a local council with a local mayor as chairman. The local councils are elected every five years by the population of the local districts. The local advisory board can be heard on all important issues affecting the local district. However, the final decision on a measure rests with the Kassel city council.


Neighboring communities

Around Kassel is the administrative district (''
Landkreis In all German states, except for the three city states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a '' Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the (official term in all but two states) or (official term in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia ...
'') of Landkreis Kassel. The following cities and municipalities border the city of Kassel (starting clockwise in the north): Ahnatal,
Vellmar Vellmar is a town in the Kassel district, in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the Ahne river. History Vellmar gained city rights on August 30, 1975 to mark its 1200th anniversary, becoming, together with Baunatal, the youngest city in the dis ...
, Fuldatal, Staufenberg, Niestetal,
Kaufungen Kaufungen is a municipality in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated in the narrow valley of the river Losse, surrounded by the steep, wooded hills of the Kaufunger Wald, approx. 10 kilometres east of Kassel. Geography Divi ...
, Lohfelden, Fuldabrück,
Baunatal Baunatal is a town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is a comparatively young town which arose from fusion of the formerly independent municipalities ''Altenbauna'', ''Altenritte'', ''Großenritte'', ''Guntershausen'', ''Hertingsh ...
, Schauenburg, Habichtswald. Of these, Vellmar and Fuldatal in the north, Kaufungen in the east, Lohfelden in the southeast and Baunatal in the south are growing ever closer to the urban area.


Culture

In 1558, the first German observatory was built in Kassel, and a later version from 1714 survives as the Bellevue Palace. The ''Ottoneum'', the first permanent German theatre building, was built in 1604. The old building is today the Natural History Museum, and the now-called
Staatstheater Kassel The Staatstheater Kassel is a state-owned and operated theater in Kassel, Germany. History A permanent theatre house existed in Kassel during the first decade of the 17th century. It stood immediately next to the Ottoneum near the State Theatr ...
is located in a nearby building that was constructed in the 1950s. Since 1927, Kassel has been home to Bärenreiter, one of the world's most important music publishers. Since 1955 the ''
documenta ''documenta'' is an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. The ''documenta'' was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultural ...
'', an international
exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibitio ...
of
modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...
and
contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic ...
, has been held regularly in Kassel. The ''documenta'' now takes place every five years. As a result of the ''documenta 6'' (1977), Kassel became the first town in the world to be illuminated by
laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The ...
beams at night (Laserscape, by artist Horst H. Baumann). This laser installation is nowadays still visible at weekends. Artworks from former editions of the ''documenta'' (mainly sculptures) can be found in many places in Kassel; among those are the " 7000 Oaks", a work of land art by the German artist Joseph Beuys. The latest/current edition of the ''documenta'', known as "''documenta 15''", runs from June 18 until September 25, 2022.


Climate

Kassel experiences an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
( Köppen: ''Cfb'') but not so far from marine climates, with a more notable continental influence than
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
. Using the 1961-1990 normal and 0 °C isotherm, the city already had a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...
(''Dfb'').


Demographics


Sights

The bombing raids of 1943 destroyed 90% of the city center. The city was almost completely rebuilt during the 1950s and is a combination of renovated or reconstructed old buildings and architecture of the 1950s. Outside the city center, the suburbs are dominated by 19th-century architecture. The oldest monument is the Druselturm; the Brüderkirche and the Martinskirche are also, in part, of medieval origin. The towers of the Martinskirche are from the 1950s.


Churches


St. Martin, Kassel

The main Protestant church of Kassel, it was begun in 1364 and finished in 1462. Severely damaged by British bombing in 1943, it was later reconstructed in a more modern style between 1954 and 1958.


St. Bonifatius, Kassel

St. Bonifatius was designed and built in 1956 by Josef Bieling.


Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe

The complex includes Wilhelmshöhe Palace (with the Antiquities Collection and Old Masters), the Hercules monument, and the Lions Castle. Wilhelmshöhe Palace above the city was built in 1786, by landgrave Wilhelm IX of Hesse-Kassel. The palace is now a museum and houses an important collection of Graeco-Roman antiques and a fine gallery of paintings comprising the second largest collection of Rembrandts in Germany. It is surrounded by the beautiful Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe with many appealing sights. The complex was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013. The Hercules monument is a huge octagonal stone structure carrying a giant replica of Hercules "Farnese" (now at Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples, Italy). From its base down to Wilhelmshöhe Palace runs a long set of artificial cascades which delight visitors during the summer months. Every Sunday and Wednesday afternoon at 14:30 (from May until October) the famous water features take place. They start at the Oktagon and during a one-hour walk through the park visitors can follow the water's way until they reach the lake of the Wilhelmshöhe Palace, where a fountain of about marks the end of the spectacle. The '' Löwenburg'' ("Lions Castle") is a replica of a medieval castle, also built during the reign of Wilhelm IX. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71
Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephe ...
was imprisoned in Wilhelmshöhe. In 1918, Wilhelmshöhe became the seat of the German Army High Command (OHL): it was there that the military commanders Hindenburg and Ludendorff prepared the German capitulation.


Staatspark Karlsaue (Karlsaue Park)

Another large park and also part of the European Garden Heritage Network is the
Karlsaue The Karlsaue Park is a public and inner-city park of in Kassel (Northern Hesse, Germany). It was redesigned as a landscape garden in 1785 and consists of a mixture of visible Baroque garden elements and arranged “natural areas”. Location ...
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, the Orangerie contains the Museum of Astronomy and Technology, with a scale model of the
Solar System The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...
spanning the entire park and beyond. In addition, the Park Schönfeld contains a small, municipal
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
, the Botanischer Garten Kassel.


Art museums

Europe's first public museum, the Museum Fridericianum was founded in 1779. By the end of the 19th century the museum held one of the largest collections of watches and clocks in the world. Other art museums in Kassel include: * Wilhelmshöhe Palace (Antiquities Collection and Old Masters:
Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...
, Rubens, Rembrandt,
Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, , ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, chiefly of individual and group portraits and of genre works, who lived and worked in Haarlem. Hals played an important role in the evolution of 17th-century grou ...
,
Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh ...
) * New Gallery (
Tischbein family The Tischbein family was a German family of artists, originating in Hesse and spanning three generations. The family patriarch, Johann Heinrich Tischbein (1682–1764), was a master baker at the State Hospital in Haina. The Tischbeins also produce ...
, Joseph Beuys) * Hessisches Landesmuseum (with a world-famous wallpaper collection).


Other museums

* Museum of Natural History (in the Ottoneum-building) * Museum of physics and astronomy in the Orangerie * Marmorbad (marble bath) in the Orangerie * Caricatura (in the Hauptbahnhof Kassel) * Museum of Local History * Tram-Museum Kassel * Technical Museum and Henschel Museum * Louis Spohr Museum (classical music composer) *
Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among th ...
Museum in the Bellevue Palace (closed) * Museum for Sepulchral Culture * Museum of the Brothers Grimm (known as Grimmwelt Kassel) * Museum of Modern Art (Neue Gallerie) * Gemäldegallerie Kassel in the Wilhelmshöhe Palace (Schloss Wilhelmshöhe) * Botanical Island (Insel Siebenbergen)


Sports

Hessen Kassel is the football club in the city, who plays in the Hessenliga after being relegated from the Regionalliga Südwest in the 2017/2018 season. The city's own football stadium, the
Auestadion Auestadion is a multi-use stadium in Kassel, Germany close to the Karlsaue park. It is used mainly for football matches and athletic events and is the home stadium of KSV Hessen Kassel. The stadium is able to hold 18,737 people with 8,700 sea ...
was built in 1953 and is able to hold 18,737 people. It is located in the south of Kassel at the quarter Südstadt, next to the Karlsaue. Kassel has a long ice hockey tradition, but it was not until 1977 that the Kassel ice rink (Eissporthalle) opened on a private initiative. The Kassel Huskies were founding members of the DEL in 1994, belonging to the league from 1994 to 2006 and again from 2008 to 2010. In
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
, they were runners-up in the championship playoffs, losing to
Adler Mannheim The Adler Mannheim (English: ''Mannheim Eagles'', formerly Mannheimer ERC) is a professional ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest-level ice hockey league in Germany. The team is based in Mannheim, a city in the norther ...
, and reached the semifinals on three more occasions. The Huskies ran into financial difficulties and dissolved in 2010. The "Young Huskies," which is a junior and youth hockey club, decided to enter a men's team in the Hessenliga. This is the fifth division and the lowest men's competition in the state of
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are ...
. The new club was expecting no more than 3,000 supporters for the first home game in the Hessenliga. However, they had over 5,000 supporters come to watch.


Transport

Kassel has seven tram lines (1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), with trams arriving usually every 15 minutes. The city also operates a light rail Stadtbahn network called '' RegioTram'' using Regio Citadis low-floor trams which run on both tram and main line railway tracks with three lines (RT1, RT4, RT5). Moreover, a number of low-floor buses complete the Kassel public transport system. The introduction of low-floor buses led to the development of the
Kassel kerb A bus stop kerb is a special kerb (curb in US English) designed for low-floor buses that serve an elevated bus stop platform. The usage spread after good experiences with the Kassel kerb featuring a concave-section that allows for an easier al ...
which improves the
accessibility Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...
at
bus stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...
s. The city is connected to the
national rail network In United States railroading, the term national rail network, sometimes termed "U.S. rail network", refers to the entire network of interconnected standard gauge rail lines in North America. It does not include most subway or light rail lines. Fe ...
at two stations, Kassel Central, and Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe. The traditional central station (Hauptbahnhof) has been reduced to the status of a regional station since the opening of the Hanover-Würzburg high-speed rail line in 1991 and its station (Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe) on the high-speed line at which the
InterCityExpress The Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE ()) is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany. It also serves some destinations in Austria, Denmark (ceased in 2017 but planned to resume in 2022), France, Belgium, Switzerl ...
(ICE) and
InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
services call as well as
Nightjet Nightjet (stylised as nightjet) is a brand name given by the Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB to its overnight passenger train services. ''Nightjet'' operates in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland. ...
and Flixtrain. Kassel is connected to the
motorways A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
A 7, A 49 and A 44. The city is served by
Kassel Calden Airport Kassel Airport (formerly ''Kassel-Calden Airport'', German ''Flughafen Kassel'') is a minor international airport serving the German city of Kassel in the state of Hesse. It is located west of Calden, northwest of Kassel and is mainly used for ...
.


Politics


Mayor

The current mayor of Kassel is Christian Geselle of the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
(SPD), who was elected in 2017. The most recent mayoral election was held on 5 March 2017, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Candidate ! Party ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Geselle , align=left,
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
, 30,403 , 56.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Dominique Kalb , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 9,854 , 18.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Eva Koch , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens , 4,957 , 9.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Murat Cakir , align=left, Kasseler Left , 4,483 , 8.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Bernd Hoppe , align=left, Free Voters , 2,561 , 4.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Matthias Spindler , align=left, Die PARTEI , 1,460 , 2.7 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 53,718 ! 99.0 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 552 ! 1.0 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 54,270 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 148,706 ! 36.5 , - , colspan=5, Source
City of Kassel


City council

The Kassel city council (''Stadtverordnetenversammlung'') governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 14 March 2021, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Lead candidate ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , align=left, Awet Tesfaiesus , 1,201,167 , 28.7 , 10.7 , 20 , 7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
(SPD) , align=left, Patrick Hartmann , 1,028,529 , 24.6 , 4.9 , 17 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , align=left, Michael von Rüden , 802,551 , 19.2 , 1.5 , 14 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Kasseler Left (KL) , align=left, Violetta Bock , 469,800 , 11.2 , 0.6 , 8 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , align=left, Matthias Nölke , 236,057 , 5.6 , 0.0 , 4 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alternative for Germany (AfD) , align=left, Sven Dreyer , 233,609 , 5.6 , 5.4 , 4 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Voters (FW) , align=left, Christian Klobuczynski , 94,443 , 2.3 , 0.7 , 2 , ±0 , - , , align=left, Save the Bees , align=left, Bernd Hoppe , 77,703 , 1.9 , New , 1 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Die PARTEI (PARTEI) , align=left, Jennifer Rieger , 41,169 , 1.0 , New , 1 , New , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 61,687 ! 95.7 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 2,765 ! 4.3 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 64,452 ! 100.0 ! ! 71 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 147,462 ! 43.7 ! 0.9 ! ! , - , colspan=8, Source
Statistics Hesse


Education and research


University of Kassel

The University of Kassel is a public higher education institution and was founded in 1971 as a so-called reform university offering new and innovative models of teaching. It is the newest university in the state of Hessen and has an urban and lively inner-city campus between the city center and the Northern city district, a typical working-class area with a multicultural population. There were 25,000 students enrolled at the university in 2018, 3381 of them non-Germans. Two hundred and twenty-four students obtained their doctorate from the university in 2017. The University offers a wide range of study programs from organic agriculture to social work. Furthermore, it offers several Englis
master's programs
as well as two short-term international programs, the Summer University and the Winter University. The
Kunsthochschule Kassel Kunsthochschule Kassel (German; "Kassel College of Art") is a college of fine arts in Kassel, Germany. Founded in 1777, it is a semi-autonomous department of the University of Kassel . Notable people * Daniel Stieglitz * Peter Angermann * Si ...
(University of Fine Arts) is also part of the university with a satellite campus directly at the Karlsaue park in the Southern city district.


Other institutions

* Kassel School of Medicine (KSM) * Fraunhofer-Institut für Windenergie und Energiesystemtechnik (IWES), the former Institut für Solare Energieversorgungstechnik (ISET) * Fraunhofer-Institut für Bauphysik (IBP) Projektgruppe Kassel * Forschungszentrum für Informationstechnik-Gestaltung (ITeG) * International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD) * Internationales Zentrum für Hochschulforschung Kassel (INCHER) * Zentrum für Umweltbewusstes Bauen (ZUB) * Center for Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT) * AG Friedensforschung


Associations

* Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge German War Graves Commission * Gesellschaft für Christlich-Jüdische Zusammenarbeit Kassel * Spitzenverband der landwirtschaftlichen Sozialversicherung * Deutsche Rentenversicherung Hessen * Industrie- und Handelskammer Kassel (Chamber of Commerce Kassel)


Courts

Several courts are located in Kassel, including: * Federal Social Court of Germany (Bundessozialgericht) * Hessischer Verwaltungsgerichtshof (Administration Court of Hesse) * Hessisches Finanzgericht * Sozialgericht Kassel (Social Court Kassel) * Arbeitsgericht Kassel (Employment Court Kassel) * Verwaltungsgericht Kassel * Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt/Main in Kassel * Landgericht Kassel (Regional Court Kassel) * Amtsgericht Kassel and Staatsanwaltschaft Kassel (Local Court Kassel)


Notable people


Academia

* Helmut Hasse (1898–1979), fundamental theorist in algebra and number theory * Dieter Koch-Weser (1916–2015), Professor, Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health * Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929), Jewish-German theologian, philosopher and translator * Georg Friedrich Sartorius (1765–1828), academia, research historian and economist


Actors and entertainment

* Daniel Bandmann (1837–1905), actor-manager * Hubertus Meyer-Burckhardt (born 1956), television journalist and talk show host * F. W. Murnau (1888–1931), movie director in the silent film, silent era * Barbara Rudnik (1958–2009), actress * Otto Sander (1941–2013), actor * Meryem Sahra Uzerli (born 1982), Turkish-German actress


Artists and designers

* Arnold Bode (1900–1977), architect, painter, designer, and founder of the documenta * Simon Louis du Ry (1726–1799), architect * Hugo Wilhelm Arthur Nahl (1833–1899), artist who designed the Seal of California * Albrecht Rosengarten (1809–1893), architect famous for synagogue buildings in Central Europe


Business

* Georges Kugelmann (1809–1882), newspaper printer * Horst Paulmann (born 1935), German-Chilean billionaire entrepreneur. He is founder and chairman of Cencosud, the largest retail chain in Chile and the third largest in Latin America * Peter Gandert (1948-2016), Baker


Musicians

* Franz Curti (1854–1898), opera composer * Andreas Dippel (1866–1932), operatic tenor * Chris Hülsbeck (born 1968), video game music composer * Gertrud Elisabeth Mara (1749–1833), operatic soprano * Israel Meyer Japhet (1818–1892) choral director in Frankfurt am Main * Louis Spohr (1784–1859), composer and violinist, commemorated by a museum in the city * Charlotte Sporleder (1836–1915), composer * Johannes von Soest (1448–1506), medieval musician, music theorist, poet, and composer. * Milky Chance (2013–present), Band (rock and pop), band.


Politicians, military and civil servants

*Holger Börner (1931–2006), politician *Hans Eichel (born 1941), politician *Philipp Scheidemann (1865–1939), briefly Germany's Chancellor after the First World War *Josias von Heeringen (1850–1926), general *Johanna Vogt (1862–1944), suffragette and the first woman on the city council of Kassel starting in 1919


Royalty and socialites

*Jérôme Bonaparte (1784–1860), Prince, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, lived in Kassel while he was king of Kingdom of Westphalia, Westphalia *Maria Amalia of Courland (1653–1711), noblewoman, participated in creation of park at
Karlsaue The Karlsaue Park is a public and inner-city park of in Kassel (Northern Hesse, Germany). It was redesigned as a landscape garden in 1785 and consists of a mixture of visible Baroque garden elements and arranged “natural areas”. Location ...
*Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel (1744–1836) *Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel (1747–1837) *Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, Princess and Landgravine Augusta of Hesse-Kassel (1797–1889), consort to Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge *Landgravine Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel (1627–1686), noblewoman, member of the House of Hesse-Kassel *Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1817–1898), princess of Hesse-Kassel, later queen consort of Christian IX of Denmark, King Christian IX of Kingdom of Denmark, Denmark *William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (1532–1592), the first Landgrave of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel


Scientists and physicians

* Valerius Cordus (1515–1544) physician and botanist, authored pharmacopoeias and herbals. * Friedrich Armand Strubberg (1806–1889), merchant, physician, colonist in North America, direct descendant of Frederick I of Sweden * Justus Carl Hasskarl (1809–1894), botanist specialising in Pteridophytes, Bryophytes, and Spermatophytes *Carl Friedrich Claus (1827–1900), chemist *Adolf Eugen Fick (1829–1901), physiologist *Jakob Stilling (1842–1915), ophthalmologist, son of Benedict Stilling, surgeon, and brother of :de:Heinrich Stilling, Heinrich Stilling, pathologist *Carl Kaiserling (1869–1942), pathologist


Sports

*Leni Junker (1905–1997), sprinter *Yunus Mallı (born 1992), Turkish footballer *Annika Mehlhorn (born 1983), butterfly and medley swimmer *Yona Melnik (born 1949), Israeli Olympic judoka


Writers and journalists

*The
Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among th ...
, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections as Grimms' Fairy Tales *Helmut Kollars (born 1968), writer and illustrator *Rudolf Erich Raspe (1736–1794), University of Kassel librarian who fled to England after embezzling significant funds from Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and wrote (or compiled) ''s:The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchhausen'' *Paul Reuter (1816–1899), reporter, founder of the Reuters news agency *Lucien Scheler (1902–1999), French poet, writer, and publisher *Peter-Matthias Gaede (born 1951), journalist


Others

*Herman Lamm (1890–1930), German-American bank robber *Norbert Trelle (born 1942), Roman Catholic German bishop *Nils Seethaler (born 1981), Ethnologist


Twin towns – sister cities

Kassel is Sister city, twinned with: * Florence, Italy (1952) * Mitte, Mitte (Berlin), Germany (1962) * Mulhouse, France (1965) * Rovaniemi, Finland (1972) * Västerås Municipality, Västerås, Sweden (1972) * Yaroslavl, Russia (1988) * Arnstadt, Germany (1989) * Ramat Gan, Israel (1990) * Kocaeli Province, Kocaeli, Turkey (1999)


See also

*Air-raid shelter am Weinberg


References


Notes


Bibliography


External links


Kassel City Panoramas
- Panoramic views and Virtual Tours
Official website

Kassel Tourist Board
*
University of Kassel

Street Crime Mapping Kassel 2009

Video of the waterfeatures
{{Authority control Kassel, 1849 establishments in Germany 1840s in the Electorate of Hesse Establishments in the Electorate of Hesse Huguenot history in Germany