Kassel

On 23rd June 2013, Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe was included in the list of cultural and natural World Heritage sites. The World Heritage site with an area of approximately 560 ha. was the first mountain park in the world to be given this honour. Thus, UNESCO marks out the park as an excellent example of European architecture and landscape gardening.

The park extends from the imposing Hercules monument down past the 350 metre long cascade system to Wilhelmshöhe Palace (Schloss Wilhelmshöhe) and beyond. The palace served as a summer residence for the landgraves and electors of Hesse-Kassel until 1866, and later for the Prussian kings and German kaisers.

The statue of Hercules with the Octagon has an identity-forming significance like no other monument in Northern Hesse. As the culmination of the cascade system, it watches over the UNESCO World Heritage site Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe at 596 m above sea level. The massive structure with the more than eight metre high statue of the ancient hero can be seen from everywhere in Kassel.

The famous water features provide a unique spectacle. The baroque grounds which extend from the Hercules monument down past the cascades were created at the end of the 17th century under Landgrave Charles of Hesse-Kassel (reg. 1677-1730). Landgrave William IX - later Elector William I. (reg. 1785-1821) - had imposing water features added to them at the end of the 18th century in line with an English landscape garden. Today, visitors can follow the water features from the Hercules monument. They walk along the Grand Cascades into the park, to thunderous waterfalls, romantic brooks and enchanted lakes until they reach an approximately 50 metre high fountain. Rising up in the form of a geyser, it is one of the many highlights. Then the visitors can continue following the water in the park, e.g. to the Jussow Waterfall, into the Valley of Flora or to the Isle of Roses. A view from one of the many viewing points is worth it.

Incorporated into the gesamtkunstwerk of the mountain park, Wilhelmshöhe Palace came into being from 1786: first the side wings - the southern Weissenstein Wing (Weißensteinflügel) and the northern Church Wing (Kirchflügel) - and finally the corps de logis, the central section. Only in the 19th century were the buildings joined together by the connecting buildings to form the present day Wilhelmshöhe Palace, which houses the Old Masters Picture Gallery (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister), the Collection of Antiquities (Antikensammlung) and the Collection of Prints and Drawings (Graphische Sammlung). The Weissenstein Wing was not destroyed in the Second World War, with the result that a unique collection of furniture from the time of the Empire is preserved there. The historic rooms of the palace can be visited in a guided tour.

The Lion Castle (Löwenburg), which was built in around 1800, is an extraordinary testimony to royal construction work. The building in a picturesque location is an imposing eye-catcher. From the distance, it looks like the perfect image of a romantic knight's castle from the Middle Ages. However, the furnishings follow the typical arrangement of a baroque country pleasure palace. In addition to the royal living apartments, it includes an armoury and a neo-gothic castle chapel. Due to extensive building work, only the armoury and the castle chapel can be visited at the moment.

The mountain park is open to visitors all year round with no admission fee and can only be accessed on foot. Car parks and access to public transport are located at the two main entrances: beneath Wilhelmshöhe Palace and by the Hercules monument. There, visitor centres provide an initial point of contact for a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage site Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe.