Kassel | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Hesse |
| Adm. region | Kassel |
| Capital | Kassel |
| Government | |
| • District admin. | Andreas Siebert (SPD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,292.76 km2 (499.14 sq mi) |
| Population (31 December 2023)[1] | |
• Total | 230,742 |
| • Density | 178.488/km2 (462.282/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Vehicle registration | KS, HOG, WOH |
| Website | http://www.landkreiskassel.de |
Kassel district (German:Landkreis Kassel) is adistrict in the north ofHesse,Germany. Neighboring districts areNortheim,Göttingen,Werra-Meißner,Schwalm-Eder,Waldeck-Frankenberg,Höxter. Theindependent city ofKassel is nearly completely surrounded by the district.
The main river in the district is theWeser, which also forms part of the eastern boundary. Its headstream, theFulda, flows through the southern part of the district including the city of Kassel. In the north of the district there is theDiemel as a tributary of the Weser.
The area was first populated by the ancientGermanic tribe ofChatti, who later founded the state of Hesse. The present county was disputed between various principalities (Hesse, Mainz, Paderborn, Cologne and Braunschweig) in the early Middle Ages; later it became part of Hesse and Hesse-Kassel. This state was annexed by Prussia in 1866 .
The modern federal state of Hesse was founded after 1945. This state reformed its districts in the 1970s. In 1972, the previous districts of Kassel, Hofgeismar and Wolfhagen, were merged to form the newly established district of Kassel.
The coat of arms shows the lion ofHesse in the top part, as Kassel was the capital of the county of Hesse until 1866, when it moved toPrussia. In the lower part it has threeoak leaves taken from the coat of arms of the Hofgeismar district, and a wolf's hook symbolizing the Wolfhagen district.
Many characters and places from the fairy tales of theBrothers Grimm have originated in the area around Kassel. Thus the tale of Sleeping Beauty locates at the Sababurg in Reinhardswald and that of Rapunzel on the Trendelburg. Therefore, the district of Kassel is also marketed as the"Land of the Brothers Grimm". The region is the center of theGerman Fairy Tale Route.
The district is represented in theEuropean Garden Heritage Network with three parks: The park of the castles Schloss Wilhelmsthal (in Calden), the Escheberg-Castle and the Sababurg.
The district is served by the motorways 7 ( Würzburg - Kassel - Hanover ), 44 (Kassel - Dortmund ) and 49 (Kassel-Borken). Other roadlinks, including the B 7, B 83 and B 251, exist.
With the Airport Kassel-Waldau in 1924 there was an airport with international connections. In 1970 it was closed with the opening of the newKassel Calden Airport. Currently this airport is completely rebuilt.
The rail transport is oriented to the city of Kassel with tram and rail lines.
Some parts of the district benefit from good infrastructure.Baunatal has large Volkswagen andLohfelden factories and also has several industrial areas on the border with the city of Kassel. Other more rural parts had experiencedpopulation decline, though this has halted in recent years.
| Towns | Municipalities | Unincorporated areas | |
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Waldviertel, Austria (federal state of Lower Austria)
Forlì-Cesena, Italy (region Emilia-Romagna)
Csepel Island, Hungary
Yaroslavl, Russia (Yaroslavl Oblast)
Bistriţa-Nasaud, Romania
Dane County, United States (Wisconsin)
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51°25′N9°30′E / 51.42°N 9.5°E /51.42; 9.5
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