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Kassel - The Hercules Memorial and the Fridericianum Arts Museum

May 26, 2012

On June 9, Kassel will be the focus of the international art world when the Documenta fair kicks off. For a 100 days, everything will revolve around art. Discover Germany takes a look at Kassel - before the big show begins.

https://p.dw.com/p/1533c

Art is a huge topic in Kassel. Relics from past art shows are found everywhere and continue to enrich the city landscape till today. The city offers a number of other attractions too. Kassel's state orchestra, with its 500-year-old history, is one of the world's oldest musical ensembles. The Ottoneum, Germany's first permanent theater building, is today a natural history museum with a library of trees. And the Fridericianum is Europe's oldest public museum. Kassel is also home to Germany's oldest pedestrian zone, the Treppenstrasse. The Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe is also a unique park landscape. It stretches over an area of 240 hectares and boasts over 500 varieties of wood. Other highlights include the city's emblem - the Hercules monument, and the Wilhelmshöhe palace with its magnificent collection of paintings by old masters.