Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe is a landscape park in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

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 betwee ...

. The area of the park is , making it the largest European hillside park, and second largest park on a hill slope in the world. Construction of the ''Bergpark'', or "mountain park", began in 1689 at the behest of the Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel and took about 150 years. The park is open to the public today. Since 2013, it has been 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 ...

because of its monumental Baroque architecture and its unique fountains and water features.

Geography

Location

Bergpark wilhelmshoehe talblick ds 05 2006

, a ''Stadtteil'' of Kassel in northern Hesse, is situated west of the city centre at the foot of the

Habichtswald ''For the town in Germany, see Habichtswald, Hesse.'' The Habichtswald is a small mountain range, covering some 35 km2 and rising to a height of 615 m, immediately west of the city of Kassel in northern Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; g ...

hill range. It is also known for

Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe station Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe is a railway station in the city of Kassel, in the German state of Hesse. It is the city's most important railway station, as it is connected to the Hanover-Würzburg high-speed rail line, with InterCityExpress services cal ...

on the

Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway The Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway was the first of several high-speed railway lines for InterCityExpress traffic that were built in Germany. While technically starting in the village of Rethen and ending at Würzburg Hauptbahnhof, it ...

line.

Description

The park comprises an area of about , stretching from Kassel up to the Karlsberg mountain at . At the summit of the park stands the Hercules monument, a 40-meter high pyramid with a 8.5-meter bronze statue of

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

. Behind the monument, a series of reservoirs gather water, which passes through a complex series of channels, valves, aqueducts, and water-wheels as it flows from the monument down through the park. The water tumbles through a Baroque water theatre, grotto, fountains, two hydraulic organs and several waterfalls (including a Great Cascade that is 350 meters long) before arriving at the pond, with the Great Fountain. At about 50 meters (160 ft) high, the Great Fountain was the largest fountain in Europe at the time of its creation in 1767. Below the pond and Great Fountain, the water runs in to ponds and pools at the Wilhelmshöhe Palace, built for the Elector of Hesse

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

in the late 18th century.

Hercules

The Kassel Hercules is a copper statue depicting the ancient Greek demigod

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

(Gr. Ηρακλής, German Herkules). It is a copy of the third century

Farnese Hercules The ''Farnese Hercules'' ( it, Ercole Farnese) is an ancient statue of Hercules, probably an enlarged copy made in the early third century AD and signed by Glykon, who is otherwise unknown; the name is Greek but he may have worked in Rome. Like ...

statue, created by Johann Jacob Anthoni, a goldsmith from

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

History

Originally laid out in the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

style of the

giardino all'italiana The Italian garden (or giardino all'italiana () is best known for a number of large Italian Renaissance gardens which have survived in something like their original form. In the history of gardening, during the Renaissance, Italy had the most ...

and the

French formal garden The French formal garden, also called the (), is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the ...

, with

water feature In landscape architecture and garden design, a water feature is one or more items from a range of fountains, jeux d'eau, pools, ponds, rills, artificial waterfalls, and streams. Before the 18th century they were usually powered by gravity, tho ...

s running downhill in cascades to

Schloss Wilhelmshöhe Schloss Wilhelmshöhe is a Neoclassical palace located in , a part of Kassel, Germany. It was built for Landgrave Wilhelm (William) IX of Hesse in the late 18th century. Emperor Wilhelm II made extensive use of it as a summer residence and p ...

, it was later re-arranged into an

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

. In 1143,

Canons Regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by ...

from

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

established the Weißenstein monastery at the site of present-day Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, which was dissolved in the course of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

. Landgrave

Philip I of Hesse Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (in English: "the Magnanimous"), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protesta ...

used the remaining buildings as a hunting lodge, largely rebuilt by his descendant

Maurice of Hesse-Kassel Maurice of Hesse-Kassel (german: Moritz; 25 May 1572 – 15 March 1632), also called Maurice the Learned or Moritz, was the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) in the Holy Roman Empire from 1592 to 1627. Life Maurice was born in Kassel a ...

from 1606 to 1610.

1696–1806

The Bergpark came into being as a Baroque park under Landgrave Charles I of Hesse-Kassel. In 1701, the Italian architect started the construction of the Hercules monument and the giant cascades. In 1785, Wilhelm (William) IX, Landgrave of Hesse started a large extension of the park, and the following year his architect,

Simon Louis du Ry Simon Louis du Ry (13 January 1726 in Kassel - 23 August 1799 in Kassel) was a classical architect. Biography Simon Louis du Ry was the son of the Huguenot architect Charles du Ry and grandson of Paul du Ry of Kassel. He was from a French re ...

, designed the Neoclassical palace

. Meanwhile, the ideals of the landscaping changed from the French

to the

English garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

. In the course of the extension and modifications, , apart from contributing to the design of the palace, created constructions still characterizing the park today: artificial ruins like the (Lion's Castle) and the

Roman aqueduct The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported min ...

, as well as extensions of the water garden like the Lac, the fountain pond, and the ''Teufelsbrücke'' (Devil's Bridge) with the ''Höllenteich'' (Hell's Pond). In 1793, Karl Steinhöfer added the Steinhöfer Waterfall to the water garden.

1806–1866

Kassel became the capital of the newly created

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the ...

, a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...

state of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, ruled 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 ...

's brother

Jérôme Bonaparte Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte (born Girolamo Buonaparte; 15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I (formally Hieronymus Napoleon in German), King of Westphalia, between 1807 and 18 ...

. He kept court at the palace of Wilhelmshöhe (which was renamed ''Napoleonshöhe'') until 1813, after Napoleon's defeat and the restoration of the electorate. The king's Head Chamberlain and governor of ''Napoleonshöhe'' was Count Heinrich

von Blumenthal The von Blumenthal family are Lutheran and Roman Catholic German nobility, originally from Brandenburg-Prussia. Other (unrelated) families of this name exist in Switzerland and formerly in Russia, and many unrelated families (quite a few of them Je ...

. In 1826,

William II, Elector of Hesse William II (german: Wilhelm II; 28 July 1777 – 20 November 1847) was the penultimate Elector of Hesse.After 1806, the title of ''Elector'' was meaningless, since no more Holy Roman Emperors could be elected, because the Empire had been dissolve ...

ordered the last large construction of the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, the ''grosser Wasserfall'' (Great Waterfall).

1866–1918

Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2002-009-10, Kaiserpaar bei Ausritt

Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2005-0164, Kassel, großes Hauptquartier, Offiziere

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 ...

for supremacy in Germany, the principality was annexed by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

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, the dynasty of the creators of the park ended. 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, ...

, French Emperor

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 Schloss Wilhelmshöhe before going into exile in Britain. From 1899, German Emperor

Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

, who went to school in Kassel, chose Wilhelmshöhe as his summer residence, which turned the castle and the park into a centre of European politics for the next two decades. After the armistice which ended World War I, the

Oberste Heeresleitung The ''Oberste Heeresleitung'' (, Supreme Army Command or OHL) was the highest echelon of command of the army (''Heer'') of the German Empire. In the latter part of World War I, the Third OHL assumed dictatorial powers and became the ''de facto'' ...

led by

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fr ...

organized and led the withdrawal and demobilization of the German troops from here from November 1918 to February 1919. SchlossWilhelmshoehe

20th and 21st century

Schloss Wilhelmshöhe was damaged by Allied bombs in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. From 1968 to 1974, it was rebuilt as an art museum. It houses a

wallpaper Wallpaper is a material used in interior decoration to decorate the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" (so ...

collection, a collection of

Graeco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were dir ...

antiques, and a gallery of Old Masters paintings. The collection focuses on the 16th and 17th century, containing masterpieces by German, Italian, French and Spanish painters. It comprises the second-largest collection of

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally cons ...

s in Germany. Rembrandt's famous "

Saskia Saskia is a Germanic feminine given name. There are at least two different sources of the name. One is of North German and Northeast Netherlands origin, where it originally meant "a Saxon woman" ( metathesis of "Saxia"). Notable people with the nam ...

" and "The Man with the Slouch Hat" by

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 ...

are among them. In 1972, the Chancellor of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ger ...

and the Prime Minister of the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

Willi Stoph Wilhelm Stoph (9 July 1914 – 13 April 1999) was a German politician. He served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1964 to 1973, and again from 1976 until 1989. H ...

met in Schloss Wilhelmshöhe for negotiations between the two German states. No extensions were made to the Park in the 20th century. Extensive renovations to the Hercules monument and cascades have been ongoing in the 21st century, and are still in progress; much of the monument continues to be shrouded in scaffolding.

Today

Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe is administrated by the

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 ...

and affiliated with the European Garden Heritage Network since 2009. On 23 June 2013 it was proclaimed as a

during the

meeting in

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

. It is part of the

Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel The Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel represents a group of institutions in Kassel, Germany, comprising museums, associated research libraries, and supporting facilities. They are overseen by the German federal government in collaboration with Germ ...

Evaluation

Art historian Georg Dehio (1850–1932), inspirator of the modern discipline of historic preservation, described the park as "possibly the most grandiose combination of landscape and architecture that the

dared anywhere" (''"vielleicht das Grandioseste, was irgendwo der Barock in Verbindung von Architektur und Landschaft gewagt hat."'').

Literature

* Giovanni Francesco Guerniero, ''Delineatio Montis'', Cassel 1706 * Paul Heidelbach, ''Die Geschichte der Wilhelmshöhe.'' Klinkhardt & Biermann, Leipzig, 1909 * Horst Becker und Michael Karkosch, ''Park Wilhelmshöhe, Parkpflegewerk'', Bad Homburg und Regensburg 2007, . * Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlösser und Gärten Hessen, ComputerWorks AG und Michael Karkosch, ''Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, Gartendenkmalpflegerische Zielplanung mit VectorWorks Landschaft'', Lörrach 2007. * Bernd Modrow und Claudia Gröschel, ''Fürstliches Vergnügen, 400 Jahre Gartenkultur in Hessen'', Verlag Schnell und Steiner, Bad Homburg und Regensburg 2002, . * Michael Karkosch, ''Zeitreise in die Jahrhundertwende, Der Kaiserpark Wilhelmshöhe in Kassel'', in: SehensWerte, Heft 4, Besuchermagazin der Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlösser und Gärten Hessen, Bad Homburg 2008, S. 28f. * Dunja Richter, ''Der Duft der großen weiten Welt, Wilhelminische Pflanzenhausarchitektur in Kassel'', in: SehensWerte, Heft 4, Besuchermagazin der Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlösser und Gärten Hessen, Bad Homburg 2008, S. 30. * Michael Karkosch, ''Zurückgelassen in der Heimat, Erdmann – Lieblingsteckel Seiner Majestät'', in: SehensWerte, Heft 4, Besuchermagazin der Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlösser und Gärten Hessen, Bad Homburg 2008, S. 35. * Siegfried Hoß, ''Kaiserliche Farbenpracht – neu entfacht!'', in: SehensWerte, Heft 4, Besuchermagazin der Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlösser und Gärten Hessen, Bad Homburg 2008, S. 42. * Marianne Bolbach, ''Geschichte und soziale Bedeutung des Bergparks Wilhelmshöhe'', Kassel 1988. * Paul Heidelbach, ''Die Geschichte der Wilhelmshöhe'', Leipzig 1909, Nachdruck, hrsg. v. Dieter Carl, Vellmar 2005. * Alfred Hoffmann und Herrmann Mielke. ''Kassel – Schlosspark Wilhelmshöhe – Bäume und Sträucher'', hrsg. v. d. Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlösser und Gärten Hessen, Bad Homburg 1994 (3. überarbeitete Aufl.). * Jutta Korsmeier, ''Wasserkünste im Schlosspark Wilhelmshöhe'', hrsg. v. d. Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlösser und Gärten Hessen, Bad Homburg und Regensburg 2000, . * Helmut Sander, ''Das Herkules-Bauwerk in Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe'', Kassel 1981.

Gallery

File:Kassel asv2022-02 img50 Wilhelmshöhe Gewächshaus.jpg, The orangery File:Schlosspark Wilhelmshöhe 001.jpg, Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, as seen from downtown Kassel File:WasserspieleKasselNachts kasselgalerie de.jpg, Water arts, lit at nighttime File:1106 Herkules Kassel.jpg, Hercules statue atop the octagon, as seen during renovation in 2011 File:Hercules statue side view Jul 2013.jpg, Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, side view of the Hercules statue File:1104 Herkules Kassel.jpg, Closeup of Hercules statue File:Schlosspark Wilhelmshöhe Teufelsbrücke 02.jpg, The Teufelsbrücke (Devil's Bridge) File:1208 Bergpark 028.jpg, Artificial waterfall File:Löwenburg Kassel 2012.jpg, The ''Löwenburg'' (Lion's Castle) File:Renovation and Restoration of the Hercules Monument with Hercules Statue sign Jul 2013.jpg, Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, sign describing the renovation still in progress in 2013 File:Kulturerbe herkules fontäne.ogg, "Wasserkunst" experienced by tourists, 2016 File:Wilhelmshoehe - Herkules mit Kaskaden.jpg, Water running down the cascades, a coloured picture before 1903

References

External links

Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe : UNESCO Official WebsiteWebsite of ''Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel''
* ttp://www.stadtpanoramen.de/kassel/index.html Stadtpanoramen.de – Panoramas of Bergpark & Schloss Wilhelmshöhe and the Hercules monument & cascadesbr>Youtube – Illuminated water arts in Kassel at night Youtube – Water arts in Kassel
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergpark Wilhelmshohe Buildings and structures in Kassel Landmarks in Germany Parks in Germany Royal residences in Hesse Protected areas of Hesse Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel World Heritage Sites in Germany Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel