When my husband and I visit Germany, our main focus is to visit family and friends so we tend to stay close to his hometown of Butzbach. However, we do try and fit several day trips throughout our stay.
On our last trip we decided to head north and drive two hours to Kassel, a city famous for being the home of the Brothers Grimm and its Hercules monument located in Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe.
My sister-in-law and her daughter joined us on our trip to see the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe and Hercules monument, a copper statue which towers over the city. The park is the largest hillside park in Europe and the second largest park on a mountain slope in the world and was constructed in 1696. If you look at pictures online, its a beautiful park and in 2013 it was proclaimed a World Heritage Site.
You can get a great view of the city at the monument and its water features are pretty spectacular. Water runs down the side of the hill through cascades down into its fountain feature in a magnificent production. Unfortunately, when we visited the water features weren't running but I can only imagine how amazing they must look in full effect.
Currently, Hercules is under a major renovation. Its hard to get really take in the beauty monument and the view of the city is obstructed by cranes. It will most likely be under construction for the next year so if you are planning on visiting any time soon, know you aren't likely to see the picturesque view that you are expecting. It was still a beautiful and interesting visit, and to know how long ago this engineering marvel was built is impressive.
After touring the monument, we walked down the hill to the Schloss Wilhelmshöhe. The palace offers a great view of the Hercules monument and its cascading water features. Cloudy weather obstructed our view of Hercules for a bit but it was still a beautiful landscape.
We enjoyed our short trip to Kassel and are eager to return. We plan on coming back after the monument is finished with its renovations and the water features are running.
Have you visited the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe before its renovations? I'd love to hear how it is!