KASSEL

Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), northern Hesse Land (state), central Germany. Kassel is bordered by Thuringia Land to the east, Bavaria Land to the southeast, the Regierungsbezirke of Giessen and Darmstadt to the south, and the Lnder of North RhineWestphalia to the west and Lower Saxony to the north. The largest of three districts in Hesse, it occupies an area of 3,200 square miles (8,288 square km) and is coextensive with the historic region of Hesse-Kassel, which was itself a Regierungsbezirk of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau from 1867 to 1944. In 1945 Kassel was created as the northernmost of two Regierungsbezirke in the new Land of Hesse. In a 1980 administrative reorganization, Kassel lost a small part of its southwestern territory to the newly formed district of Giessen. Kassel Regierungsbezirk takes its name from that of the largest city and administrative seat of the district. Kassel is dissected by two north-south corridors, both of which serve as major transportation routes connecting southern Germany with the Northern Lowlands and their seaports. The larger of these two corridors, the West Hesse Depression, follows the Schwalm valley and the extensive Kassel Basin through the district to the north-flowing Weser River. The fertile loess and loam soils of the depression produce large crops of sugar beets, potatoes, and cereals, making it one of Hesse's leading agricultural areas. An extensive sandstone plateau, which is divided into two sections by the Eder River and its large dammed lake, the Edersee, is located to the west of the West Hesse Depression. The southern portion of this plateau comprises the heavily forested Kellerwald, an eastern projection of the Middle Rhine Highlands that rises more than 1,900 feet (600 m). North of the Eder the lower-lying Waldeck region consists of pastureland interspersed with arable fields. The peaks of the Rothaar Mountains reach elevations that exceed 2,600 feet (800 m) along the western border, forming a natural frontier with North RhineWestphalia. The second and narrower north-south corridor, the East Hesse Depression, runs from the city of Fulda north through Bad Hersfeld to the Eichenberg gap, following sections of both the Fulda and Werra rivers, tributaries of the Weser. Some of the district's most varied scenery can be found in the basalt-capped sandstone hills of the Knll and Meissnerland, which are part of the Hesse Central Upland's northern axis situated between the depressions. The Thringer Wald (Thuringian Forest) and the volcanic basalt highlands of the Rhn plateau rise east of the East Hesse Depression. The remote Rhn landscape is covered by forest and great expanses of mountain pasture and is topped by the district's highest peak, the Wasserkuppe (3,117 feet ). Population densities in the district range from fewer than 50 persons per square mile (20 per square km) in many of the highlands to densities averaging more than 1,300 persons per square mile at the northern end of the West Hesse Depression near the city of Kassel. Kassel is northern Hesse's principal cultural, economic, and rail centre and a major manufacturer of locomotives and heavy commercial vehicles. Fulda is a banking and financial centre and a major producer of textiles. Brown coal is mined in the Kassel Basin and used primarily for electrical generation. Germany's largest potash fields are located in the Werra valley. The majority of the population of Kassel Regierungsbezirk are of Hessian Frankish descent and speak the Rhenish Franconian dialect. Nearly three-quarters are Protestants and about one-quarter are Roman Catholics. More than two-thirds of the population live in towns or villages with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants. The rural settlement pattern in the valleys and basins is one of irregular, compact villages, while isolated farmsteads and small hamlets are more common in the upland regions with more severe climates. Traditional costumes are still worn by many of the farm people in the Schwalm valley. The University of Kassel is the centre of higher education in the district. Pop. (1989 est.) 1,317,140. also spelled Cassel, city, Hesse Land (state), central Germany. It lies along the Fulda River, which is a navigable tributary of the Weser River, 90 miles (145 km) northeast of Frankfurt am Main. First mentioned in 913 as Chassala (Chassela), the town derived its name, usually spelled Casle in the late European Middle Ages, from the Latin-Franconian castella (stronghold). Probably a seat of the Franconian kings, it was chartered in 1180 and became the residence of the landgraves of Hesse about 1277. An extension, Neustadt (New Town), was added, of which St. Martin's Church (14th century) became the centre; the Oberneustadt (Upper New Town) was built in the 17th century for Huguenot refugees. Kassel was the capital of Hesse-Kassel (later the Electorate of Hesse) from 1567 to 1866; it also served as the capital of the short-lived kingdom of Westphalia (180713) and, after 1866, of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau (until 1944). A centre of German airplane and tank production in World War II, it was almost totally destroyed by Allied bombing but has been carefully rebuilt. Kassel's historical landmarks include the Orangery Palace (170111) in the Karlsaue Park and the Ottoneum (160407; largely rebuilt in 1697), which is claimed to be the oldest theatre building in Germany and which now houses a natural-history museum. The city's numerous museums include the Hesse Provincial Museum; the German Wallpaper Museum, which contains an unusual wallpaper collection; the Museum Fridericianum, the site of Documenta, an international art exhibition; and the Museum of the Brothers Grimm. The city is the site of technical schools and of an academy of applied art. Wilhelmshhe, a mountain just west of the city, is the site of a palace (17861801) that houses the State Art Collections. Nearby, a celebrated series of cascades is topped by a statue of Hercules that has been the symbol of Kassel for more than 250 years. An important rail junction and industrial centre, Kassel's manufactures include transportation equipment, optical and precision instruments, and textiles. Pop. (1989 est.) 189,156.