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Kassel Travel Guide: 95 reviews and 234 photos
When I went to Kassel in 2005 to see the opera Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), I was afraid I might be disappointed because I had just seen the same opera a few weeks before in a spectacular open-air production on the lakeside at Bregenz, Austria.
But I needn't have worried. The Kassel production was very different and of course much more intimate, but just as good in its own way.
The photo at the top of this page is a legal one, by the way, since I took it before the performance started. As the audience came in, the stage was already in full view -- there is no curtain, anyway -- and several eerie figures wearing long black coats and gas masks were walking slowly around the stage, setting the mood for the coming opera scenes.
Since the unsightly 45-year-old State Theater (Staatstheater) was undergoing a much-needed refurbishment, operas were presented for a couple of years in a colorful and very attractive temporary theater called the Kuppeltheater, which was set up like a circus tent on the Friedrichsplatz in the center of Kassel.
The Kuppeltheater has 890 seats (as opposed to 6,800 in Bregenz), but it was nowhere near full on the weekday evening when I was there.
Kassel is a city of nearly 200,000 inhabitants, located on the Fulda River in the northern part of Hessen.
Not to be confused with Kassel, which is a small ex-village in the Spessart hills 206 kilometers to the south. To get from this one to that one, take the regional bicycle route R1 south to Fulda (140 km). Then take the R3 to Wirtheim (about 66 km) and turn left.
Reviews (12)
View of Friedrichsplatz and...
Restaurants
(1)
What does Kassel have in common with Wiesbaden? Well, for one thing, they both have a Chinese restaurant on the top... more travel advice
Sort of 1950s ambience, but convenient
Hotels
(1)
An inexpensive, centrally located hotel. I got a good deal on it through one of the websites I usually use, either... more travel advice
Trams and RegioTrams
Transportation
(3)
Kassel has a fine system of eight tram (streetcar) lines, all of which go through the city center and then fan out in... more travel advice
Kassel Main Station
Transportation
(3)
This is a dead-end station (Kopfbahnhof), meaning that all the tracks end here, so the trains have to go back out the... more travel advice
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Kassel Travel Guide
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- "Ab nach Kassel! (Let's go to Kassel!)"
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Comments (31)
What a good Restaurant you found! Lots of buildings look quite nice in this town, hard to tell the buildings have been rebuilt by the photo's.
Don, I am always impressed by the German transport systems, must be best in the world. Impressive view and dining room for a Chinese restaurant, at quoted prices it is a wondor how they can make a profit.
Interesting Kassel page. We have been to the city before but did not have the opportunity to visit these lovely places. Hope to see more of the city on our next trip. Thanks for visiting our Germany travel page. ~ho & pang
Very useful tips for a possible visit this summer. Thanks!
Your pictures and comments have made me look forward even more than I already was to visiting Hessen this summer!
Even more Opera & Theatre - interesting competition & great updates
I like the idea of this temporary theatre that moves from place to place wherever it is needed :-) The Documenta sounds interesting too and I find even modern art that I don't like can be an interesting point of discussion!
My G-Grandfather was from "Hessen Kassel", Gottingen to be precise. Thanks for the quick look at the old family farm :-) Didn't realize Kassel was such a large and cultured city.
Lots of interesting music venues in Kassel...Kuppletheater looks like it would have offered an interesting evening at the opera!
Hi Don, interesting story about Kuppeltheater and the building history in general.