Warteberg

Adam-von-Trott-zu-Solz-Denkmal, Kassel

The Warteberg is a 229 meters high mountain in the city quarter Philippinenhof-Warteberg of Kassel, Germany. Living there must be nice and painful at the same time: because of the great views you can have, but I wouldn’t want to climb up this mountain every day; I totally underestimated it. It is located in the north of the city directly at the border to Vellmar. On top, you will find a small park where you can sit down between trees and have a relaxed look at the valley of the river Fulda.

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Magazinhof

Magazinhof, Kassel

Locals call it the Nazikaserne (Nazi barracks): the Magazinhof at Kassel, Germany. It was built in 1940 for the Wehrmacht which used it to store grain and other food (it was officially called Ersatzverpflegungsmagazin). After the war, the Bundeswehr took over the three buildings and stored cloth inside. In 1994 the army moved out, the buildings deteriorated, trees began to grow within the buildings, vandalism happened and fires broke out. But the building was protected by monument protection and therefore it was hard to sell.

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Ahnepark

Ahnepark, Vellmar

Vellmar is a municipality north of Kassel, Germany. It was formed in 1967 by combining Obervellmar, Niedervellmar and Frommershausen. When Vellmar received the city rights in 1975 it was decided that there should be a centrally placed recreation zone and the result is the Ahnepark opened in 1986. It is a beautiful park next to river Ahne with artificial lakes, a restaurant next to the water, a playground, sports areas, a miniature railway and much more to explore.

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Firnsbachtal

Firnsbachtal, Kassel/Schauenburg

The Firnsbach is a small and rather short stream (3.2 kilometres long) that gathers its water in the Habichtswald and runs via river Bauna into the river Fulda. On its way it passes the nice restaurant Herbsthäuschen and the former mine Schlüsselstollen. Walking along the river through its valley is nice because of the basalt rocks around, the little waterfalls and several bridges you have to pass. It doesn’t have a long gorge but it is worth a visit and can be included in longer hikes.

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Heimkehrerdenkmal

Heimkehrerdenkmal, Friedland

When you’re travelling south of Göttingen, Germany, you will see a memorial on top of a hill. It is the Friedland-Gedächtnisstätte or Heimkehrerdenkmal located at Friedland. The memorial consists of four huge blocks of concrete pointing north, south, east and west. It is 28 meters high and has been placed there in 1967 because of the Grenzdurchgangslager near the hill – Friedland was the place where after World War II the persons arrived that were living in the lost eastern regions of the country and the prisoners of war. The foundation stone was laid by Konrad Adenauer – the first chancellor of Germany – in 1966.

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Hauptfriedhof

Hauptfriedhof, Kassel

The Hauptfriedhof (main cemetery) of Kassel, Germany is located in the northern part of the city and dates back to the year 1843. You will find many old graves and monuments there – but still today people are buried here (graves are typically removed after 20 years). Well known people buried here are Philipp Scheidemann (an important social democrat from Kassel, the family Henschel (important industrials), Ludwig Emil Grimm (a younger brother of the Brothers Grimm) and composer Louis Spohr.

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Ancient harbour

Harbour, Bad Karlshafen

Bad Karlshafen, Germany, is the most northern city of the federal state of Hesse. The ‘Bad‘ in its name shows that it is a spa city and people get there to cure their illnesses. It was founded by Charles I, landgrave of Hesse-Kassel in 1699 as a city for the Huguenots who fled from France because they were persecuted due to their Protestant Christian belief. You can find a museum for these people next to the harbour. By that time it was called Sieburg – it received the name Carlshaven in 1717 to honour its creator.

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Drei-Länder-Eck

Drei-Länder-Eck, Bad Karlshafen

When you walk on top of the mountains south of Bad Karlshafen, Germany, you might see a sign saying ‘Drei-Länder-Eck‘. But it isn’t the place where three countries or three federal states meet – it is just the border between North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse. Since 1837 the border between Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia was in the middle of river Weser and in 1971 the border was changed and now the ‘Drei-Länder-Eck‘ is on the other side of the river Weser not far away from the Weser-Skywalk. It is a bit confusing – but in fact, the place marked as ‘Drei-Länder-Eck‘ was never the point where the borders met; at this place, formerly only a sign pointing to the different federal states of Germany was standing.

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Hugenottenturm

Hugenottenturm, Bad Karlshafen

If you’re at Bad Karlshafen, Germany, you can see a tower on the mountain in the south. It is the Hugenottenturm (Huguenot tower) built in 1913. The tower was founded by Johann Josef Davin originating from a Huguenot family and living in Bremen. His ancestors fled from France because the were persecuted due to their Protestant Christian belief. As the city was founded in 1699 as a Huguenot city to give them a new home he was thankful and wanted to give something back.

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Krukenburg

Krukenburg, Bad Karlshafen

On the Waltersberg mountain near Bad Karlshafen, Germany, you can find the ruins of an ancient fortress: the Krukenburg. It is special as at its centre a large church is included which was built in 1107 and follows the design of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The fortification was built to protect the village underneath called Helmarshausen, today a city quarter of Bad Karlshafen. In addition to the church and the different ruins of the fortification, there is also a tower which you can climb on.

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