Attractions and Places To See in Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe - Top 20

Above Wilhelmshöhe Castle lies the artificial castle ruins of the Löwenburg. From a distance it appears like a romantic knight's castle from the Middle Ages. However, it was only built between 1793 and 1801 as the “ancestral castle” of Landgrave Wilhelm IX. of Hesse-Kassel, the later Elector Wilhelm I. His court architect Heinrich Christoph Jussow implemented the bold plans. The Löwenburg was not a fortress, but a pleasure palace, whose princely living quarters and rich furnishings with historical furniture, paintings, tapestries, glasses, bronzes as well as a magnificent collection of weapons and medieval stained glass windows reflect the great passion for collecting of its builder. The immediate surroundings of the castle were also included in the production by creating an ancient-looking castle garden, a vineyard, a tournament field and a zoo.

The water bubbles over the cascades, the Steinhöfer waterfall, the Devil's Bridge and falls over the aqueduct and the Peneus cascades down to the castle pond. Here the water pressure causes the "Great Fountain" to shoot up over 50 meters. This spectacle is the conclusion and highlight of the water games. Always on Wednesdays, Sundays and on public holidays at certain times.

Several museums and collections are housed in Wilhelmshöhe Palace: in the middle section is the famous picture gallery of the old masters, the collection of antiquities and the graphic collection. The castle museum can be found in the Weißenstein wing. And the chapel in the church wing is popular for weddings.

The statue, which is considered a landmark of the city of Kassel, is located at the top of a pyramid that stands on the octagon, the giant castle. Today, the name "Hercules" not only stands for the statue, but for the entire building, which is also the starting point for the summer water games in the mountain park. The octagon and the Hercules go back to different construction phases. Since June 23, 2013, the Hercules - as part of the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe - has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List as an example of absolutist architecture.

Woooow, like a movie set. The sight knocks every ambitious hiker's socks off 😍

Impressive building, which can also be visited. There is a locality next to the main building. If you step out of the main entrance you have a sensational view over the park area up to the Hercules.

Landgrave Wilhelm IX had the mountain park redesigned and expanded according to the English-influenced spirit of the time. This also included the Löwenburg Castle, which was built as a ruin in 1793. The habitable ruin was his personal retreat and was also intended to be his grave, where he still lies today. Kassel was exposed to heavy bombings during the Second World War, which also severely damaged the Löwenburg. It was only rebuilt for practical purposes. The facility is now being restored again and will then look exactly as it did when it was founded. Due to the restoration work, only the armory and the chapel can currently be visited (2022). This is done exclusively through guided tours, which take place every hour.

In 1696, Landgrave Carl von Hessen-Kassel decided to create a mountain park directly behind his Weißenstein hunting lodge, which was to be on a par with the gardens of Versailles. The Huguenot inventor Denis Papin was to develop a steam-powered fountain for this purpose, as he was one of the developers of the first steam engine. Since there were repeated setbacks, Papin was no longer financed and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz declined due to lack of interest. Instead, a 60 m long model for a mountain park was designed with the Italian architect Guerniero, of which only a third was ultimately realized. From 1701, the expansion for the elaborate water features began, which only took place 13 years later for the first time. Instead of using steam power, the fountains now worked exclusively with the water pressure from a higher pond. The water covers a height difference of 320 m over a 2 km flow distance. The finale is a 50 m high fountain, which shoots up solely due to the water pressure. With these impressive water features, Landgrave Carl wanted to express the power of his county on the one hand, and the power of man over nature. Over 130 years, his successors expanded the mountain park. Only when the county was abolished by Prussia did the expansion come to an end, but Prussian rulers such as Kaiser Wilhelm II also liked to stay in Kassel, where they used the Bergpark. The site was preserved and still functions as it did more than 300 years ago. A visit to the mountain park is a must! If you want to hike the entire park, you should be able to walk well and plan enough time and a few meters of altitude. The always new views and numerous sights are worth all the effort. Even without the water games, which take place every Wednesday and Sunday, the mountain park is a unique attraction. Those who are not good on foot should at least enjoy the incredible view of Kassel in front of the Hercules.