Kassel - Geography and history
The Regierungsbezirk of Kassel lies in the north and north-east of the Land and includes the kreisfreie Stadt of Kassel and six Landkreise. With an area of 8 289 km², it is the largest of Hessen's Regierungsbezirke. Its rural character is very much the result of the west and east Hessen mountains and the west Hessen depression running north to south between them. The principal settlements are in the Schwalm, Fritzlar-Borken, Kassel and Fulda basins and along the Eder, Fulda and Werra rivers.
The lie of the land and the way the border was drawn at the end of the second World War mean that most of the traffic routes run north-south. Traffic coming from the Ruhr and from northern Germany converges near Kassel. Unification and the opening up to the East brought new prospects of development. The lines formerly linking Dortmund - Kassel - Erfurt - Leipzig and Frankfurt - Fulda - Erfurt - Leipzig - Dresden have been upgraded and some sections incorporated into the high-speed rail network operated by Deutsche Bahn AG. Kassel and Fulda were already stops on the new ICE line linking Hannover to Würzburg, and have thus become intersections on the major north/south and east/west routes. The motorway link, which was partly disrupted in the former border zone, has likewise been restored and there are plans to extend the motorway from the Ruhr to Kassel further to the east.
A region in a state of flux
North-eastern Hessen suffered badly from the partition of Germany, when traditional links with Thüringen were severed. Though this situation was remedied with the fall of the Iron Curtain, one consequence was the virtual disappearance of the military infrastructure in the area abutting the former border.
The Kassel conurbation should continue to remain the focus of the region as a centre of private and public services, a university city, the seat of major federal and Land courts and an international centre for modern art (Documenta). However, natural conditions mean that it will remain primarily rural. Its farms produce traditional products in the main - grain, sugar beet, milk, meat and the like. The cherries grown in Witzenhausen (Werra-Meißner) and the market gardens of Schwalm-Eder enjoy a reputation that extends well beyond the region. Tourists seeking a peaceful break in the countryside find a varied landscape of small villages, open farmland and deep forests. The natural beauty of the area makes the region a favourite tourist destination. Indeed, a quarter of all visitors to Hessen come here to discover the beauties of the countryside, accounting for just under a third of all overnight stays in the Land.
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