Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe

Coordinates: 51°18′57″N 09°23′35″E / 51.31583°N 9.39306°E / 51.31583; 9.39306
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Hercules monument at the Bergpark, landmark of Kassel
LocationKassel, Hesse, Germany
CriteriaCultural: (iii), (iv)
Reference1413
Inscription2013 (37th Session)
Area558.7 ha (1,381 acres)
Buffer zone2,665.7 ha (6,587 acres)
Coordinates51°18′57″N 09°23′35″E / 51.31583°N 9.39306°E / 51.31583; 9.39306
Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe is located in Hesse
Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe
Location of Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe in Hesse
Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe is located in Germany
Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe
Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe (Germany)

Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe is a landscape park in

water features.[2]

Geography

Location

View towards Kassel

Bad Wilhelmshöhe [de], a Stadtteil of Kassel in northern Hesse, is situated west of the city centre at the foot of the Habichtswald hill range. It is also known for Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe station on the Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway line.

Description

The park comprises an area of about 2.4 square kilometres (0.93 sq mi), stretching from Kassel up to the Karlsberg mountain at 526.2 metres (1,726 ft).[2] At the summit of the park stands the Hercules monument, a 40-meter high pyramid with a 8.5-meter bronze statue of Hercules. 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.[2] 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.[2] At about 50 meters (160 ft) high, the Great Fountain was the largest fountain in Europe at the time of its creation in 1767.[1] 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 in the late 18th century.[1]

Hercules

Main article: Hercules monument (Kassel)

The Kassel Hercules is a copper statue depicting the ancient Greek demigod Heracles (Gr. Ηρακλής, German Herkules). It is a copy of the third century Farnese Hercules statue, created by Johann Jacob Anthoni, a goldsmith from Augsburg. Beneath the stature of Hercules are basins and figures such as centaurs and fauns who hold horns.[3] When this water display is turned on, the pressure change produces a sound through the horns.[4]

History

Originally laid out in the

Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, it was later re-arranged into an English landscape garden
.

In 1143,

Protestant Reformation. Landgrave Philip I of Hesse used the remaining buildings as a hunting lodge, largely rebuilt by his descendant Maurice of Hesse-Kassel
from 1606 to 1610.

1696–1806

The large fountain

The Bergpark came into being as a Baroque park under Landgrave

Schloss Wilhelmshöhe
.

Meanwhile, the ideals of the landscaping changed from the French

English garden. In the course of the extension and modifications, Heinrich Christoph Jussow [de], apart from contributing to the design of the palace, created constructions still characterizing the park today: artificial ruins like the Löwenburg [de] (Lion's Castle) and the Roman aqueduct
, 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

von Blumenthal. In 1826, William II, Elector of Hesse
ordered the last large construction of the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, the grosser Wasserfall (Great Waterfall).

1866–1918

Emperor Wilhelm II in the Bergpark in 1906
Members of the Oberste Heeresleitung, High Command of the German Army, November 1918
Rembrandt's "Saskia"

Having sided with Austria in the

Hesse-Nassau
. Kassel ceased to be a princely residence, the dynasty of the creators of the park ended.

In 1870, after the

Wilhelm II, 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 led by Paul von Hindenburg
organized and led the withdrawal and demobilization of the German troops from here from November 1918 to February 1919.

Schloss Wilhelmshöhe

20th and 21st century

Schloss Wilhelmshöhe was damaged by Allied bombs in

Graeco-Roman antiques, and a gallery of Old Masters paintings.[5] 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 Rembrandts in Germany. Rembrandt's famous "Saskia" and "The Man with the Slouch Hat" by Frans Hals
are among them.

In 1972, the Chancellor of

German Democratic Republic Willi Stoph
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.[6]

Today

Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe is administered by the State of Hesse and affiliated with the European Garden Heritage Network since 2009. On 23 June 2013 it was proclaimed as a World Heritage Site during the UNESCO meeting in Phnom Penh.[7] It is part of the Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel.

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 Baroque dared anywhere" ("vielleicht das Grandioseste, was irgendwo der Barock in Verbindung von Architektur und Landschaft gewagt hat.").[8]

Literature

Gallery

  • The orangery
    The orangery
  • Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, as seen from downtown Kassel
    Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, as seen from downtown Kassel
  • Water arts, lit at nighttime
    Water arts, lit at nighttime
  • Hercules statue atop the octagon, as seen during renovation in 2011
    Hercules statue atop the octagon, as seen during renovation in 2011
  • Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, side view of the Hercules statue
    Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, side view of the Hercules statue
  • Closeup of Hercules statue
    Closeup of Hercules statue
  • The Teufelsbrücke (Devil's Bridge)
    The Teufelsbrücke (Devil's Bridge)
  • Artificial waterfall
    Artificial waterfall
  • The Löwenburg (Lion's Castle)
    The Löwenburg (Lion's Castle)
  • Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, sign describing the renovation still in progress in 2013
    Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, sign describing the renovation still in progress in 2013
  • "Wasserkunst" experienced by tourists, 2016
  • Water running down the cascades, a coloured picture before 1903
    Water running down the cascades, a coloured picture before 1903

References

  1. ^ a b c Water features and Hercules within the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe -- Nomination dossier (PDF) (Report). Hessisches Ministerium fur Wissenschaft und Kunst. May 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d "Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Water features and Hercules within the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe" (PDF). World Heritage Convention. UNESCO.
  4. ^ "The water games in Kassel's Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe". Entdecke Deutschland. Entdecke Deutschland.
  5. ^ "Museum Palace Wilhelmshöhe". Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel (MHK). Archived from the original on 2015-06-19. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  6. ^ "Herkules – a living myth". Kultur Portal – Hessen. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  7. ^ "Sites in Germany and Italy bring to 19 the number of sites inscribed on the World Heritage List this year". UNESCO World Heritage Organization. 2013-06-23. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  8. ^ Schuhmann, Rainer (2004-04-08). "Die unendliche Baugeschichte des Kasseler Herkules". HR-Online (in German). Hessischer Rundfunk. Retrieved 2009-03-25.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe.
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