Kassel

History

Kassel traces its history to a first mention in 913 CE, but archaeological finds indicate human habitation at this site predating the 10th century. And the city would soon become a centre and later residence of the Ladgraviate of Hesse.
During the Thirty Years War Kassels Landgraf Philipp declared for the Protestants. This had an effect as later numerous Huguenots emigrated from France and brought with them their trade and skills. The impact of the Huguenots can still be witnessed in the centre of Kassel where streets are named after Huguenots.
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 rumours 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 World War II, where trains, tanks and planes were constructed. In the later years of the war Kassel was thoroughly bombed as a military target by English and American planes.
Kassel was home to the famous Brothers Grimm who wrote a lot of the fairy tales Disney uses today. A less well known but perhaps more important piece of their work was an attempt at a "complete" dictionary of the German language, that was only completed after their death. The house that they lived in was made into a museum with a lot of interesting artefacts.
The Centre of Kassel itself was thoroughly destroyed during the Second World War and therefore rebuilt in the incredibly bland 1950s style (which in fairness was partially due to budget constraints and admitted to be ugly even back then). Hence, the inner city is mainly dominated by bank and mall buildings of the modern sort.

Tourist information

• Tourist Information City Centre

  phone: +49 561 707707
  address: Wilhelmsstraße 23

• Tourist Information Wilhelmshöhe

  phone: +49 561 34054
  address: Willy-Brandt-Platz 1
  at the train station Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe

• Visitor Centre Wilhelmshöhe

  phone: +49 561 31680751
  address: Wilhelmshöher Allee 380

• Visitor Centre Hercules

  phone: +49 561 31680781
  address: Schlosspark 28

By car

Motorways (Hannover-Würzburg), (Kassel-Dortmund) and (Kassel-Marburg) leads to Kassel.

By train

Kassel is an important hub in the ICE network and is one of the cities on the first purpose-built German high speed rail line connecting Würzburg and Hanover. Most ICE and some local trains serve Fernbahnhof Kassel-Wilhemshöhe, about 4 km west of downtown. The private operator Flixtrain also serves Kassel Wilhelsmhöhe. Flixtrain does not accept DB tickets and vice versa.
Kassel's historic , that was refurbished following the opening of the Wilhelmshöhe station has been branded "Kulturbahnhof" (culture station) and is much closer to downtown. Only regional trains operating to/from here. You can take a train from one station to the other and its advisable to start your exploration from Hauptbahnhof as it is much closer to most sights.

By bus

The Busbahnhof Kassel Wilhelmshöhe (intercity bus station), also known as the ZOB, adjoins the Kassel-Wilhemshöhe Bahnhof. There is another intercity bus station at , a few meters behind the city boundary of Kassel at the motorway. The tramlines 4 and 8 are running from the Papierfabrik in the city centre.

By plane

• San Andreas

The next major airports are in Hanover (HAJ) and of course Frankfurt airport (FRA). As they are excellently connected to the German railway network (Frankfurt airport even has an high speed ICE stop) and Kassel is a major hub, you can get from the airport to town in no more than two hours. You can also buy combined tickets for flight and train.

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. If you are staying a few days in Kassel buy a public transport Wochenkarte. Ride as much as you like on the streetcars and buses for a full week from date of issue for €23,50 (January 2019). Another very attractive offer for tourists is the Kasselcard for 2 adults (24 h for 9 €, 72 h for 12 €) which includes all public transport and offers reduced entrance fee in many museums. The Kasselcard is only available at the Tourist Informaton offices, at the youth hostel and at some hotels.
Tram and bus stops are identified by this sign: .

• Local public transport is the KVG (only in German), see also the website of the transport association NVV (only in German) for north Hesse.

Parks

• Bergpark WilhelmshöheSince 2013 on the UNESCO World Heritage List, 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 medieval castles, fake quarries - 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 (may 1st until october 3rd) the Wasserspiele (watergames) every Wednesday, Sunday and on public holidays starting from 14:30. 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 down slope. Löwenburg and Schloss Wilhelmshöhe (palace Wilhelmshöhe) with its old masterpieces of art.

• Karlsaue State ParkKarlsaue, 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 (next summer 2017). Siebenbergen flower island (Blumeninsel Siebenbergen). Orangerie. Cabinet of Astronomy and Physics with planetarium (Astronomisch Physikalisches Kabinett mit Planetarium). Marble Baths (Marmorbad)

Museums

• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas

Churches

• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas

documenta-artworks

• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas
• San Andreas

Swimming baths

• San Andreas
• San Andreas

Theatres

• San Andreas

Cinemas

• San Andreas
• San Andreas

Action

• San Andreas
• San Andreas

Sport

KSV Hessen Kassel

KSV Hessen Kassel is the most popular football club of Kassel and plays in the German Fourth Division (Regionalliga Südwest). The home stadium of the football club is the which is able to hold 18,000 people.

Kassel Huskies

Kassel Huskies is a professional ice hockey and plays in the 2nd Eishockey-Bundesliga, but they played the majority of their seasons in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, called DEL (1994–2006). The team plays in the (6100 people).

MT Melsungen

MT Melsungen is a handball club from Melsungen, but has it home in the since 2007 which is able to hold 4300 people. The team plays in the German Handball-Bundesliga.

Kassel-Marathon

The Kassel-Marathon is one of the biggest and fastest marathons in Germany. In the programm are a children run, called Mini-Marathon, with a length of 4.2 km, a half marathon, a marathon and a marathon ekiden. Start and end is in the Auestadion in the south of Kassel. (www.kassel-marathon.de)

Go next

Getting a little bit out of the city can be a good thing. Around Kassel there are beautiful forests and ponds that have really good trails like the Habichtswald in the west or the Reinhardswald in the north. You can travel with buses direct into them (Bus 22 or 190).

Events

• 
  

Shopping can be somewhat difficult in Kassel compared to the United States, but most of the good shopping is located close to the Königsplatz so if you get off the Straßenbahn (Tram) around there you can do most of your shopping with the usual big retail chains and many smaller shops.

• Etuis-Mertl

  phone: +49 561 16626
  address: Wilhelmsstraße 13

• Hornschu

  phone: +49 561 772329
  address: Oberste Gasse 3-7

• Kletterkogel

  phone: +49 561 776192
  address: Garde-du-Corps-Straße 1

• Porzellanhaus Lange

  phone: +49 561 103333
  address: Wilhelmsstraße 4a

• Laufladen

  phone: +49 561 104475
  address: Friedrichsplatz 12

• Scheibenbeisser

  phone: +49 561 5297026
  address: Fünffensterstraße 6

• Sound Brothers

  phone: +49 561 700090
  address: Wolfsschlucht 17

A lot of local shops you can find in the old market hall:

• Markthalle Kassel

  phone: +49 561 780395
  address: Wildemannsgasse 1

There are great bakeries on every corner and throughout the city. Another great place to eat is any of the little stands located in the City Point or Kürfürsten Galerie (city centre).

Restaurants

• Eckstein

  phone: +49 561 713300
  address: Obere Königsstraße 4

• Bolero

  phone: +49 561 45010632
  address: Schöne Aussicht 1a

• Restaurant Orangerie

  phone: +49 561 28610318
  address: Am Auedamm 20b

• Humboldt 1a

  phone: +49 561 76649755
  address: Humboldtstraße 1a

• Osteria

  phone: +49 561 773705
  address: Jordanstraße 11

• Boccaccio

  phone: +49 561 43020410
  address: Querallee 36

• Eberts

  phone: +49 561 7399230
  address: Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 116

• Eigenart 116

  phone: +49 561 76608070
  address: Wilhelmshöher Allee 116

• Düsseldorfer Hof

  phone: +49 561 22176
  address: Zwehrener Weg 6-8

• Restaurant Park Schönfeld

  phone: +49 561 73976744
  address: Bosestraߟe 13

• Restaurant Bootshaus

  phone: +49 561 7394486
  address: Auedamm 27

• Restaurant La Galleria

  phone: +49 561 35306
  address: Wilhelmshöher Allee 262

• Restaurant Ilyssia

  phone: +49 561 311793
  address: Lange Straße 83

• Brauhaus Zum Rammelsberg

  phone: +49 561 3162730
  address: Rammelsbergstraße 4

• Restaurant Gutshof

  phone: +49 561 32525
  address: Wilhelmshöhe Allee 347a

Cafés

• Café Nenninger

  phone: +49 561 7661690
  address: Friedrichsplatz 8

• Café Lange

  phone: +49 561 17138
  address: Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 72

• Café Streiter

  phone: +49 561 9373157
  address: Wilhelmshöher Allee 283

Beer gardens

• Biergarten Rondell

  phone: +49 152 29581684
  address: An der Karlsaue

• Backstube

  phone: +49 561 27629
  address: Kochstraße 16

Clubs and discos

• York

  phone: +49 561 7397919
  address: Obere Königsstraße 4

• Club A.R.M./Lolita Bar

  phone: +49 561 47396530
  address: Werner-Hilpert Straße 22

• Unten

  phone: +49 561 81657150
  address: Joseph-Beuys-Straße 7

• Kulturzentrum K19

  phone: +49 561 8043803
  address: Moritzstraße 19

• Musikpark A7

  phone: +49 561 95380340
  address: Miramstraße 74

• Joe's Garage

  phone: +49 561 18686
  address: Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 60

• Best Western Plus Hotel Kassel City

  phone: +49 561 72850
  address: Spohrstraße 4

• Hotel Reiss

  phone: +49 561 521400
  address: Werner-Hilpert-Straße 24

• Jugendherberge Kassel

  phone: +49 561 776455
  address: Schenkendorfstraße 18

• Pentahotel Kassel

  phone: +49 561 9339887
  address: Bertha-von-Suttner Straße 15

• Best Western Hotel Kurfürst Wilhelm I.

  phone: +49 561 31870
  address: Wilhelmshöher Allee 257

• Hotel Schweizer Hof

  phone: +49 561 93690
  address: Wilhelmshöher Allee 288

• Kurparkhotel Bad Wilhelmshöhe

  phone: +49 561 31890
  address: Wilhelmshöher Allee 336

• Schlosshotel Bad Wilhelmshöhe

  phone: +49 561 30880
  address: Schlosspark 8

• Wilhelmshöher Tor BioHotel Kassel

  phone: +49 561 93890
  address: Heinrich-Schütz-Allee 24

• Hotel Neue Drusel

  phone: +49 561 30800
  address: Im Druseltal 42

• Zum Steinernen Schweinchen

  phone: +49 561 940480
  address: Konrad-Adenauer-Straße 117

• La Strada

  phone: +49 561 20900
  address: Raiffeisenstraße 10

• Hotel Gude

  phone: +49 561 48050
  address: Frankfurter Straße 299

• Hotel Albatros

  address: Oberste Gasse 11
  A classic German experience with full restaurant/bar on the main level and 15 rooms on the upper two floors. All rooms with WC and shower and TV. 2008 rate was €46 single, €68 double which includes a large breakfast buffet. The restaurant has daily specials, and serves reasonably priced, true German cuisine.

• Ibis Hotel Kassel

  address: Heinrich-Hertz-Straße 3
  A clean budget hotel located in an industrial area a couple of kilometres from down-town, right at the Autobahn exit. If you are travelling by car, this is an excellent choice, if travelling by train or other kind of transportation, not. The hotel restaurant could be compared to a fast-food joint, but again, if you have a car you can drive to the city centre for a better meal.

• Hotel Palmenbad

  phone: +49-561-20755870
  address: Kurhausstr. 25
  Boutique hotel in the historic walled city, with 12 rooms, each one unique in its design dedicated to famous artists.

Kassel is usually very safe. Tourists normally do not get into the little problem areas from Kassel you can find in the northern and southern districts (Nord-Holland, Schillerviertel, Brückenhof, Mattenberg).

Important telephone numbers

• Police: 110
• Emergency (fire, acute illness): 112
• Municipality: 115

• San Andreas
• {{listing

| name=DRK-Kliniken Nordhessen | alt= | url=http://www.drk-nh.de/ | email=kontakt@drk-nh.de
| address=Hansteinstraße 29 | lat=51.31199 | long=9.45407 | directions=
| phone=+49 561 30860 | tollfree= | fax=+49 561 30862254
| checkin= | checkout= | price=
| content=15px Rotes Kreuz (Linen 1,3,4,7])
}

• Deutsche Märchenstraße (German Fairytale Road)

Habichtswald

The Habichtswald and the Naturpark Habichtswald are located in the west of Kassel. You can find in the nature park châteaus as , old castle ruins as the or worth seeing mountains as the with Helfensteine, where also the Naturparkzentrum is located (bus line 117 from Zierenberg train station, lines R4/RT4). Medieval towns in the Naturpark Habichtswald are Zierenberg, Wolfhagen and Naumburg (Hesse).

Reinhardswald

The Reinhardswald is an area associated with fairy tales and the stories of the Brothers Grimm, for example "Sleeping Beauty", who should lived on the , an old castle in the middle of the forest. There are nice medieval and baroque towns around the Reinhardswald, like Hann. Münden in Lower Saxony or Bad Karlshafen in the north of Hesse. Visit also the , the oldest animal park of Europe and the , the first Naturschutzgebiet of Hesse. Bus line 190 runs through the Reinhardswald from Hofgeismar train station, train lines RE17/RT1, or Hann. Münden train station, train lines RE2/RE9/R8.

Edersee

The Edersee is a reservoir and together with the Nationalpark Kellerwald-Edersee a multifaceted touristic area in the southwest of Kassel. Most famous are the and , but there are also smaller sights and not to forget the objects, which you can just see when there is only very little water in the reservoir, like the Aseler Brücke (bridge). Around the Edersee and in the Kellerwald you can find a lot of hiking trails or cycle paths.

Upland

The Upland is the northeastern part of the Hochsauerland and Rothaar Mountains and a ski and hiking area. The most famous mountain is the Ettelsberg (837,7 m ü. NHN), because of the heath and the , a 59 metre high observation tower, with a platform on 831 metres high. A cable car runs between Willingen and the mountain. Next to the Ettelsberg you can find the , the largest ski jumping hill in the world with World Cup events every year.

Next cities

• Göttingen (50 km) - famous university town in Lower Saxony (Georg-August-Universität)
• Eisenach (85 km) - with Wartburg, where Martin Luther translated the Bible into German; native town of Johann Sebastian Bach
• Marburg (90 km) - famous university town in Hesse (Philipps-Universität, one of Germany's oldest universities)