North Hesse - Nordhessen

North Hesse lies in the German low mountain range. Wooded ridges and lovely river valleys determine the landscape. From the hills there are wonderful views over the wide open country. Embedded in the green backdrop, numerous half-timbered villages and towns are waiting to be discovered. The Documenta City is the cultural and economic center of North Hesse kassel with Hercules visible from afar. The regional landmark in Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe has been a World Heritage Site since summer 2013. In terms of tourism, the region is marketed as "Grimmheimat Nordhessen", as the Grimm brothers spent many years in Kassel.

Hercules - the symbol of the city kassel

Regions

Map of Northern Hesse
  • Kassel region with the city kassel - is the economic and cultural center of the region (Documenta City Kassel)
  • Chattengau and Schwalm-Eder-Aue - The wide valley of the Eder and Schwalm invites you to go cycling. In the Borkener Seenland you can jump into the cool water in summer.
  • Kellerwald - Wooded low mountain range south of the well-known Edersee. Parts of the mountain range have been considered since 2004 Kellerwald-Edersee National Park protected. Here a primeval beech forest should develop again. In addition to the Edersee, the tourist center in the mountains is the spa town Bad Wildungen. The highest point is the 675 m high, crowned by an observation tower Desert garden at Jesberg.
View from the Weidelsburg of the Habichtswald
Speele on the Fulda between Kassel and Hann. Münden
  • Crunch - Low mountain range that many know from the "Rimberg" service station on the A5 motorway. Attractive destinations are the Eisenberg with a variety of views and winter sports opportunities, as well as the Knüllköpfchen (also a beautiful panoramic view). The 36 km long, completed in 2013 "Rotkäppchenland" railway cycle path makes the mountains attractive for cyclists too.
  • Middle Fulda valley - The defining element of the region is the Fulda valley with its cozy half-timbered towns.
  • Schwalm - fertile lowland between Knüll, Kellerwald and Vogelsberg. This is supposed to be the home of Little Red Riding Hood.
  • Reinhardswald - is marketed as "Märchenland Reinhardswald", as legend has it that well-known fairy tales such as "Sleeping Beauty" or "Rapunzel" are said to have played here. The Hessian Weser Valley also belongs to the region.
  • Waldhessen - Region around Bad Hersfeld in the transition to East Hesse. The district of Hersfeld-Rotenburg is marketing itself to tourism under the term "Waldhessen"

Note: The "official classification of the tourist regions" was only partially adopted above, as there are some regions here that have little meaningful breakdowns and names for visitors. Such a tourist region according to political borders is z. B. the "ErlebnisRegion Kassel-Land", which is identical to the district of Kassel. The regions selected on Wikivoyage Reinhardswald, Habichtswald Nature Park, Kaufunger Forest and Kassel region are much more understandable for the visitor.

There are still several of these "political tourism regions" in North Hesse, such as B. the "Werra-Meissner-Land" (district Werra-Meissner) and the Waldecker Land (district Waldeck-Frankenberg). In the case of the Werra-Meissner-Land, the district boundary fits relatively well, more or less by chance, to the holiday region around Eschwege and the Hessian Werra Valley. The Waldecker Land also fits to a certain extent, as the term "Waldeck" as "Grafschaft Waldeck" or later as "Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont" is of course still historically anchored in Northern Hesse. But that is not the rule. Regional tourism regions with "unsuitable, political borders" according to districts are not only found in Northern Hesse. In Northern Hesse, under the tourist "regional brand" "Grimmheimat Nordhessen", attempts are being made to solve the problem in the interests of the traveler. However, the sub-regions of Northern Hesse are still very much oriented towards tourism at the district level.

Note on East Hesse: The Fulda region with the Hessian Rhön politically belongs partly to the administrative district of Kassel. In terms of tourism, but also culturally and economically, East Hesse is a region of its own. Anyone who has been closer to North Hesse and East Hesse will notice this very quickly (e.g. in the Catholic faith with regard to churches and wayside shrines in the landscape). For information on Fulda and the Hessian Rhön see article East Hesse.

places

Fritzlar - Marketplace with half-timbered buildings
Half-timbered buildings on the market square of Spangenberg, the unknown "pearl" of the Stölzinger Mountains
Hofgeismar - Town hall on the market
Stately: The half-timbered town hall on the market in Melsungen
Town hall in Frankenberg (Eder)

The region has numerous cities, half-timbered towns and villages that are well worth seeing. Here is a list of the most worth seeing:

  • Bad Arolsen - Spa town with a magnificent baroque castle
  • Bad Hersfeld on the Fulda, beautiful old town ensemble on the market square. The city is known for the Bad Hersfeld Festival in the monastery ruins.
  • Bad Karlshafen - small spa town with a beautiful baroque old town. Attractively located at the mouth of the Diemel in the Weser.
  • Bad Sooden-Allendorf at the Werra. Allendorf is one of the most beautiful half-timbered towns in the region. In Bad Sooden, on the other hand, the graduation tower and the spa gardens are worth seeing.
  • Bad Wildungen - Well-known spa town on the edge of the Kellerwald, half-timbered old town, largest spa park in Europe, museums, thermal baths.
  • Eschwege on the Werra, old town with half-timbered buildings and churches worth seeing.
  • Felsberg - Three-castle town on the Eder with a very small village half-timbered old town
  • Fritzlar an der Eder - Extensive old town: market square with beautiful half-timbered buildings, cathedral and a largely preserved city wall
  • Frankenberg (Eder) - The half-timbered town hall in the old town is well worth seeing
  • Gudensberg - small half-timbered old town with castle ruins
  • Grebenstein - Rural half-timbered town with castle ruins
  • Hann. Münden - Politically, the three-river city belongs to southern Lower Saxony, but also to the region in terms of tourism. The almost completely preserved large half-timbered old town is visited a lot.
  • Hessian Lichtenau - also has an old town with half-timbered houses that are partly worth seeing
  • Hofgeismar - Old town with a cozy pedestrian zone
  • Homberg (Efze) - The half-timbered jewel is the market square, the Hohenburg with a beautiful panoramic view is also worth seeing
  • kassel - There is no longer a historic old town, but there are many museums, the Bergpark and the Karlsaue
  • Kaufungen - Located east of Kassel, a lot of half-timbered houses, especially in the old town of Oberkaufungen
  • Korbach - has a larger old town with churches and half-timbered buildings that are well worth seeing
  • Melsungen on the Fulda, beautiful half-timbered old town, the town's landmark is the stately half-timbered town hall on the market square
  • Naumburg (Hesse) - nice, little half-timbered town in the Habichtswald nature park (rather unknown).
  • Rotenburg on the Fulda - Half-timbered gem in the middle Fulda valley
  • Schwalmstadt-Treysa - Small noteworthy half-timbered old town on a small hilltop in the Schwalm
  • Spangenberg - Nice half-timbered town with a castle complex away from the main tourist trails; east of Melsungen
  • Trendelburg at the Diemel. Rapunzel was said to be at home in the castle.
  • Wanfried on the Werra - half-timbered gem
  • Witzenhausen - Cherry town on the Werra with a half-timbered old town that is well worth seeing. A visit is particularly worthwhile during the cherry blossom season.
  • Wolfhagen - Nice market place with half-timbered town hall

Further places are in the subordinate Regional articles listed.

Other goals

  • Ettelsberg near Willingen. Whoever climbs the Hochheideturm has reached the "roof of North Hesse" at a height of 875 m.

background

As North Hesse denotes roughly the part of Hessethat is north of the line Marburg - Bad Hersfeld lies.

Mostly in the north of kassel is the district of Kassel with the northernmost city of Hesse, Bad Karlshafen. In the west of the district, the Diemeltal forms the border with North Rhine-Westphalia, in the northeast lie the Reinhardswald and the Weser.

Further south are the districts of Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Waldeck-Frankenberg, the Werra-Meißner district and the Schwalm-Eder district.

language

A dialect dictionary with more than 200 declared expressions for "Kasselänisch" is in the Regiowiki Kassel to find.

getting there

By plane

The one located in the region Kassel-Calden regional airport has only a very limited range of flights to "hot water destinations" in the direction of the Mediterranean and is unsuitable for traveling to the region.

From airport FrankfurtWebsite of this institutionFrankfurt Airport in the Wikipedia encyclopediaFrankfurt Airport in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsFrankfurt Airport (Q46033) in the Wikidata database(IATA: FRA) the journey time with the ICE to Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe station is around two hours. From Hanover AirportWebsite of this institutionHannover Airport in the Wikipedia encyclopediaHannover Airport in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsHannover Airport (Q170169) in the Wikidata database(IATA: HAJ) you can reach the train station in around 90 minutes.

By train

Almost all ICE trains from these directions Frankfurt, Munich – Hamburg, Bremen or Berlin stop at Wilhelmshöhe long-distance train station, as well as most of the regional trains. The Central Station in kassel on the other hand is the hub for regional traffic in the region. This is where the Regiotram interface with the railway network is located.

By bus

A number of national and international intercity buses operate kassel at. Cologne, Hamburg, Munich and Berlin can also be reached several times a week by bus, as can Croatia, Romania or Spain. The intercity bus station is located at the Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe ICE train station.

Within Kassel and its surrounding communities, buses and trams of the North Hessian Transport Association (NVV). If you are traveling on the weekend or as a couple, the multi-ticket for € 5.60 is particularly suitable, with which you can travel for two in the "Kassel Plus" tariff area for 24 hours or an entire weekend.

You can find information on faults of any kind in the bus connections here:

Construction site / diversion / closure

In the street

The region is well connected to the trunk road network by the federal highways 7 (Hamburg - Würzburg), 44 (Kassel - Dortmund), 5 (Frankfurt - Kirchheimer Dreieck im Knüll) and 4 (Bad Hersfeld - Erfurt / Dresden).

mobility

Public transport is in the North Hessian Transport Association (NVV) organized.

Mobile without a ticket with the regional guest card "MeineCardPlus"

The regional guest card introduced at the beginning of 2013 now includes 120 accommodation providers. During your stay you can visit numerous sights such as museums, castles and palaces as well as various other leisure facilities and attractions free of charge. Furthermore, one is in entire network area of ​​the NVV without an additional ticket traveling by bus and train. If you do not want to / cannot stay overnight in an affiliated accommodation facility, you can also purchase the card as a 24-hour day ticket for € 19.90. With this variant, you should of course calculate carefully beforehand whether the purchase of the package ticket for the excursion program planned for the day is also worthwhile.

Panorama: You can scroll the picture horizontally.
Well-known motif in North Hesse: View from the foot of Hercules over the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe to Kassel: In the center of the picture you can see the central park axis with Wilhelmshöhe Castle, which is extended in Wilhelmshöher Allee. The Löwenburg can be seen halfway up the picture on the right.
Image: Pano_bergpark_kassel_wv_ds_05_2008.jpg
Well-known motif in Northern Hesse: View from the foot of Hercules over the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe on Kassel: In the center of the picture you can see the central park axis with Wilhelmshöhe Castle, which is extended in Wilhelmshöher Allee. The Löwenburg can be seen halfway up the picture on the right.

Tourist Attractions

in the Reinhardswald: The often photographed, gnarled oak fireplace is the symbol of the Sababurg primeval forest

The following is an overview of the most important sights in the region. Further sights are listed in the sub-regions and in the articles of the cities and municipalities.

activities

Cycling

There are delightful cycle paths in the river valleys. Here are the most famous:

Newer, attractive railway bike paths are the Ederseebahn cycle path north of the well-known dam as well as the Rotkäppchenland railway cycle path in the crumple.

Further regional cycle routes are in the topic article "Cycle routes in Hessen"(regional cycling map for the region see section literature).

Detailed bike tour suggestions for the region by bus and train can be found in the NVV leisure brochure "Radeln und Touren", which is available as a PDF file www.nvv.de can be downloaded.

hike

Urwaldsteig - Ederseeblick from the steep slope on the Kahlen Haardt
Habichtswaldsteig - The attractive "Alpine Path" on Dörnberg with a view of the high Habichtswald.

There are numerous hiking opportunities in the low mountain ranges of the region. A complete overview of all regional long-distance hiking trails of the hiking clubs is in Themed article Hiking routes in North Hesse to find.

Further hiking tips - if available - are usually described in the local articles on sights, mountains, communities and cities. Hiking and cycling suggestions by bus and train can be found in the NVV brochure "Hiking and Cycling" (see PDF for help www.nvv.de, the booklet is also available free of charge from the NVV information centers). Also the Hessian-Waldeck Mountain and Local History Association provides information on hiking in the region.

A selection of hiking routes for multi-day hikes:

  • Urwaldsteig Edersee - The 68 km long hiking trail goes around the Edersee on often natural, varied routes. In addition, you pass many viewpoints and sights on the lake. This makes the path one of the most attractive hiking routes in Northern Hesse. Part of the steep route is an "alpine mountain path". Those who completely circumnavigate the Edersee on this multi-day tour will get beautiful insights into the nature of the region, even away from the large tourist crowds. For more see Side of the route.
  • Habichtswaldsteig - The 78 km long route connects Zierenberg northwest of Kassel with the barrier wall on Edersee. Very appealing route with good signposting that offers a lot both in terms of landscape and sights. The highlights are of course Edersee and the Hercules near Kassel. But there is a lot more to discover such as B. the high Dörnberg at Zierenberg, the Weidelsburg and the half-timbered idyll Naumburg. The route is according to the strict criteria of the German hiking institute as Premium way certified and has a high proportion of natural, attractive hiking trails. The Habichtswaldsteig can also be easily combined with the Urwaldsteig on the Edersee as an "arrival route" on foot (official route page and Route in OpenStreetMap).).
  • Grimmsteig - The 75 km long circular route opens up the Kaufunger Forest, the Hohen Meissner and the Söhre. The term "Steig" fits, however not optimal to the route. Compared to the Urwaldsteig around the Edersee or the Habichtswaldsteig, the "Grimmsteig" has one higher proportion of routes. But if you don't care, you can find the opportunity to relax on shoemaker's pony in the quiet, wooded low mountain range. You are largely off the beaten track. But: In relation to the length of the walk, there are few or often only smaller sights. Therefore, when planning the multi-day tour, it is best to take the Bilstein with its beautiful panoramic view in the Kaufunger Forest to be incorporated individually into the route. The is actually missing in the round. Instead of spending the night in Wickenrode or Helsa (as suggested in the official stage division), it is then a good idea to go to Großalmerode To move into quarters. To do this, of course, you sometimes have to look for individual paths off the route. (official route page and Route in OpenStreetMap).

Swimming and water sports

You can bathe e.g. on Edersee, Diemelsee, Twistestausee at Bad Arolsen and also at the Werrratalsee Eschwege. in the Borkener Seenland The Singliser See and the smaller stick pool also invite you to swim. In kassel there is also a swimming lake in the Fuldaue. You can launch your own sailing yacht on the Edersee. By the way, the aquagolf facility on the is a particularly water sports offer Singliser See. A water ski lift can be found at the Twistesee Bad Arolsen.

Water hiking

Northern Hesse has some river valleys that are ideal for river hiking. The biggest are Fulda, Werra and Weser (Information is here) as well as the lower one Eder. But also the smaller one Diemel can be traveled by canoe.

Parts of the rivers are allowed for nature conservation reasons Only drive on after registration with approval. (e.g. Diemel and Schwalm). The number of boats per day is limited here. For online registration and further information on the river sections, see Canoe side of the Kassel Regional Council.

golf

There are several golf courses in North Hesse:

Scenic routes

Those who are loud can also explore the region thematically on two well-known German holiday routes:

Culture

  • Kultursomer North Hesse - varied program of music, drama, cabaret and art; next program time June 8th - August 10th 2014

Winter sports

In the Ettelsbergbahn - ride over the fog

With good snow conditions there are winter sports opportunities in the low mountain ranges.

Alpine skiing

Nordic skiing

kitchen

Ahle Wurscht

Awl sausage

The "Ahle Wurscht", a coarse-grained, cut-resistant raw sausage, is a regionally known specialty. The name of this North Hessian sausage has of course nothing to do with "old sausage". The association "Nordhessische Ahle Wurscht e.V." founded in 2004 awards the quality and trademark "North Hessian Ahle Wurscht" every year. The pork may only be obtained from animals with a slaughter weight of at least 150 kg and must come from regional production. The meat must be processed further within 32 hours after slaughter. Garlic, coriander, nutmeg, pepper, allspice, mustard seed and sugar are allowed as spices. Not permitted on the other hand are flavor enhancers, ripening accelerators, nitrite curing salt and starter cultures. The maturity of the "Round" in pig intestine (35 mm diameter) is about 4 weeks (in beef intestine 6 weeks). The thicker one "Stracke" 43 to 80 m in diameter, matures between 2 and 7 months.

For more information, see the page of the Friends of the North Hessian Ahle Wurscht e.V. "

nightlife

The online overview provides an initial overview of what is on offer in and around Kassel "Going out in Kassel and Northern Hesse".

climate

trips

Excursion destination Weserbergland: View from the new Weser Skywalk, which is already in North Rhine-Westphalia, of Bad Karlshafen. The little one Spa town is located on the "North Cape" of North Hesse.

literature

Cycling map:

  • ADFC regional map "Kassel / North Hesse" - scale 1: 75,000; published by Bielefelder Verlag; 5th revised and expanded edition 2017; ISBN 978-3-87073-780-1 ; Price: € 8.95. The special cycle touring map with detailed route representation on tear-resistant and water-repellent paper depicts North Hesse almost completely in terms of surface properties, traffic load and tour suggestions.

Web links

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