Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe is home to the Wilhelmshöhe Palace or rather what is left of it after it was bombed during the Second World War. The middle part of it was reconstructed to serve as an art museum. The artwork is simply amazing, and they had an entire exhibition dedicated to Rembrandt’s Saskia, but they also have some royal women on their walls.
The southern wing of Wilhelmshöhe Palace is called the Weißenstein Wing, and it originally housed the staterooms and the private apartments of the Landgravial family. The Hercules monument began its life in 1701, followed by the Palace in 1785. Kassel became the capital of the Kingdom of Westphalia under the rule of Jérôme Bonaparte with Catharina of Württemberg as his Queen. He kept his court at Wilhelmshöhe, which was renamed Napoleonshöhe until the restoration of the Electorate. In 1866, Hesse-Kassel was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1870, French Emperor Napoleon III was imprisoned in the Palace, and his wife Eugénie de Montijo was allowed to visit him there.
The nearby Löwenburg Castle is quite a climb away, and despite its medieval look, it was built between 1793 and 1801. William IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, had the castle built for his mistress Karoline von Schlotheim and he is buried in the chapel nearby.
Entrance to the park itself is free, but you can buy a combi ticket to see the museum, the Weißenstein wing and Löwenburg Castle. It only costs 6 euro, but the Weißenstein wing and Löwenburg Castle can only be entered on the whole hour with a guided tour. You need to keep this in mind because Löwenburg Castle is at least a half-hour walk uphill. The guided tour in the Weißenstein wing was quite interesting and English booklets were available. The Löwenburg Castle’s tour is not quite so interesting as you can only see the chapel because the rest is under construction.
Be the first to comment