Die Loewenburg im Kasseler Bergpark Wilhelmshöhepreloader-image

Kassel

Museums, fairytales and UNESCO World Heritage

Copyright Eye Icon© Kassel Marketing GmbH / Paavo Blofield

A must-visit stop on Germany's Fairytale Road...

...Kassel is as famous for being the long-time residence of the Brothers Grimm as it is for its contemporary art scene and its breathtaking UNESCO World Heritage park.

Situated on the banks of the river Fulda, the city of kassel was Destroyed almost entirely during the Second World War.

Built anew in the 1950s, it remains home to a number of architectural highlights and noteworthy landmarks. It's also jam-packed in impressive cultural offerings.

Kassel has one of the highest densities of museums of any city in Germany. Visit Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's famous elephant at the Natural History Museum (Naturkundemuseum), housed in Germany's oldest permanent theatre building, or marvel at the splendour of Wilhelmsthal Palace (Schloss Wilhelmsthal), one of Germany's finest Roccoco palaces. View the municipal and state art collections at the Neue Gallerie or browse an extraordinary selection of gilt leather, hand-printed and contemporary wallpapers at the German Wallpaper Museum (Deutsche Tapetenmuseum), founded in 1923.

One of Europe's oldest public museums, the Fridericianum, today showcases contemporary art from all over the world. Schedule your visit in time for dOCUMENTA, an internationally-acclaimed 100-day contemporary art exhibition that takes place here every five years, and rub shoulders with the likes of Brad Pitt. The next one will be taking place in 2022.

Towering above the city sits its most imposing landmark, a 70m-high monument comprising a copper statue of the Greek demigod Hercules atop a base of volcanic tuff. Beneath the monument, set in the beautiful English gardens of the UNESCO World HeritageWilhelmshöhe Mountain Park (Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe), a 350m baroque cascade of water runs down to the classical Wilhelmshöhe Palace (Schloss Wilhelmshöhe). The sites don't stop here, however: Löwenburg Castle, the rose garden and an impressive conservatory are not to be missed.

Kassel is also one of the major stopping off points along the German Fairytale Road, a 600km tour dedicated to the life and works of folklorists, linguists and legal historians, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. The brothers lived here for more than 30 years, during which time they collected and revised more than 200 fairytales and began work on the first German dictionary. Personal copies of their Children's and Household Tales, published between 1812-1815 and now of UNESCO World Document Heritage status, can be viewed at the GRIMM WORLD museum (GRIMMWELT).

GETTING HERE

By train

Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe train station is served both by InterCityExpress (ICE) and regional (RE) trains that connect the city with Frankfurt (Main) airport and Frankfurt (Main) train station - average journey time 90 minutes.

Plan your journey and book tickets online on the multilingual Deutsche Bahn website.

By car

From Frankfurt the journey by road takes around 2.5 hours.

Getting around

A KasselCard includes 72 hours of travel around the Kassel Plus area via bus, tram and train as well as reduced entry for participating tours and attractions.

contact

Kassel Marketing GmbH
Obere Königsstraße 15
34117 Kassel
Tel.: +49 (0) 561 / 7077-07
Fax: +49 (0) 561 / 7077-200