Kassel: Difference between revisions

|image_coa = CoatDEU ofKassel arms of KasselCOA.svg

'''Kassel''' ({{IPA-|de|ˈkasl̩|-|De-Kassel.ogg}}; in Germany, spelled '''Cassel''' until 1926<ref>{{Cite web|title=Von Cassel zu Kassel|url=https://www.kassel.de/buerger/stadtgeschichte/lokales/von-cassel-zu-kassel.php|access-date=2020-10-09|website=kassel.de: Der offizielle Internetauftritt der Stadt Kassel|language=de}}</ref>) is a city on the [[Fulda River]] in [[North Hesse|northern]] [[Hesse]], in [[Central Germany (geography)|central]] Germany. It is the administrative seat of the [[Regierungsbezirk]] [[Kassel (region)|Kassel]] and the district [[Kassel (district)|of the same name]], and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020. The former capital of the [[States of Germany|state]] of [[Hesse-Kassel]], it has many palaces and parks, including the [[Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe]], which is a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]. Kassel is also known for the ''[[documenta]]'' [[Art exhibition|exhibitions]] of [[contemporary art]]. Kassel has a [[Public university|public]] [[University of Kassel|university]] with 25,000 students (2018) and a multicultural population (39% of the citizens in 2017 had a migration background).

[[Post-war]], most of the ancient buildings in the city centre were not restored, and large parts of the inner city area were completely rebuilt in the style of the 1950s. A few historic buildings, however, such as the [[Fridericianum|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 [[West Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]] ([[Bonn]] 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" (''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.

Since 1955 the ''[[documenta]]'', an international [[Art exhibition|exhibition]] of [[modern art|modern]] and [[contemporary art]], has benbeen 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]] 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 18 June until 25 September 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=documenta fifteen |url=https://documenta-fifteen.de/en/ |access-date=2022-07-23 |website=documenta fifteen |language=en-US}}</ref>

The [[Bombing of Kassel in World War II|bombing raids of 1943]] destroyed 90% of the city center. The city center 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. Timber framed old towns are situated in suburbs like Harleshausen and Bad Wilhelmshöhe. The oldest monument is the Druselturm; the Brüderkirche and the [[St Martin's Church, Kassel|Martinskirche]] are also, in part, of medieval origin. The towers of the Martinskirche are from the 1950s.

* [[Meryem Sahra Uzerli]] (born 19821983), Turkish-German actress

* [[Heinrich von Porbeck]], major general, died at the [[Battle of Talavera]] (1809)

[[Category:1849 establishments in Germanythe German Confederation]]