Kassel

Kassel is situated not only almost exactly in the middle of Germany, after the reunification at least, but also of Western Europe. You’ll find it halfway between better known Frankfurt and Hannover. Comparable to the American States ours is ‘Hessen’(State of Hesse).

Geographically it lies in what we call the ‘Middle Mountains’, an area at an elevation up to 3000 feet. The landscape around more provincial Kassel is rural and covered by some forests and lakes that invite for hiking. We find the closest ski lift 5 miles from town.
Meteorologically we are between continental and Atlantic climate. Winters can be quite cold ( Dec & Jan this season almost constantly stay below zero centigrade ( freezing point)), summers between humid and Mediterranean.

Kassel was first mentioned 1000 years ago, but nothing can be found visible that dates back more than say 400 years, as the greater centre of the town was destroyed by air raids during the 2^nd World War in 1944 causing the variable deaths of 20.000 (Kassel ranks 7^th, Dresden being No 1 in that respect - 60 000). It’s a great pity that almost nothing is left of the medieval centre. How beautiful Kassel still could be you can see when visiting some smaller towns around as Hann.Muenden or Melsungen some 15 miles away.

There is a big Volkswagen factory in the adjoining city of Baunatal (popl. 30.000), but Kassel itself is more a town for civil servants an other office and service business (200.000).

Kassel’s main attractions are foremost two huge parks. The ‘Aue’ stretches along the Fulda River no longer used for transportation but for recreation only. This park is close to the city centre and was already twice served for influential landscape gardening exhibitions because of its lakes and many old and different trees imported from almost everywhere. The other is the ‘Wilhelmshoehe’, a very hilly site with castles, mansions and all kinds of monuments among which is the ‘Herkules’, Kassel’s famous landmark. Garden architecture and many of the buildings show imitation of French taste, others are classical. By the way, the enormous costs were paid from money the ‘Kurfόrst’ received from British for selling his shanghied subjects to fight against the first American colonists after the Boston Tea Party.

What has Kassel perhaps made world-famous is an art exhibition called ‘Documenta’. In 1997 the tenth will come up and turn the town into a really international and buzzing place. It will be running for 100 days in summer. It is by for the best time here, and should you consider to ever come here, that is the time!

You might then also visit three greater museums of which the art gallery for paintings is most worthwhile, our opera house and the theatres. If you don’t need everything thirty times, you’ll find everything in Kassel. Last but not least there are numerous pubs in what we call our local Bermuda Triangle, discos, restaurants, and malls all over the town.
Our educational profile is first characterised by our university ‘Gesamthochschule Kassel, Universiaet’ founded in 1971.

Finally the ‘ Friedrichsgymnasium ‘, the grammar school I teach in: It is by far the most traditional school here and many successful scientists, poets (among them the Grimm Brothers who became famous by their fairy tales) and politicians, even the last German Kaiser, attended it. It was founded in 1539 and received today’s name in 1779.

Though Latin is still the first foreign language followed by English; French and Greek (but you can do Russian, Spanish, Italian as well), there also is a strong section of natural sciences - a new building was recently completed to provide everything modern for biology, physics, arts and chemistry.

The average number of students is up to 1100 ranging from the age of ten till nineteen. Normally students leave school with a final exam called ‘ Abitur’ which entitles them to go on every full academic university.

The school is situated in short walking distance to the city centre and is neighbouring the ‘Fuerstengarten’

Additional information about Kassel: http://www.kassel.de