Editing Kassel (section)

== History ==
{{see also|Timeline of Kassel}}
[[File:Ansicht Kassel (Braun Hogenberg) 1572.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Kassel, 16th century]]
[[File:Kassel-merian.jpg|thumb|left|250px|A map of Kassel in 1648]]
[[File:KasselObereKoenigsstrasse2347.jpg|thumb|Königsstrasse, the main shopping street]]

Kassel was first mentioned in 913 AD, as the place where two [[deed]]s were signed by King [[Conrad of Franconia|Conrad I]]. The place was called ''Chasella'' or ''Chassalla'' and was a fortification at a bridge crossing the [[Fulda (river)|Fulda river]]. There are several yet unproven assumptions about the origin of the name. It could be derived from the ancient ''Castellum Cattorum'', a castle of the Chatti, a German tribe that had lived in the area since Roman times. Another assumption is a portmanteau from Frankonian ''cas'', meaning ‘valley’ or ‘recess’, and ''sali'' meaning ‘hall’ or ‘service building’, which can be interpreted as ‘(town) hall in a valley’.

A deed from 1189 certifies that Cassel had city rights, but the date when they were granted is not known.

The first castle in Kassel was constructed in 1277, later replaced by a Renaissance castle, the [[Stadtschloss Kassel|Kassel City Palace]], which burned down in 1811.

In 1567 the [[Landgraviate of Hesse]], until then centered in [[Marburg]], was divided among four sons, with [[Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel|Hesse-Kassel]] (or Hesse-Cassel) becoming one of its successor states. Kassel was its capital and became a centre of [[Calvinist]] Protestantism in Germany. Strong fortifications were built to protect the [[Protestant]] stronghold against Catholic enemies. Secret societies, such as [[Rosicrucianism]], came to the rise, with Christian Rosenkreutz's work ''[[Fama Fraternitatis]]'' first published in 1617. In 1685 Kassel became a refuge for 1,700 [[Huguenot]]s, who found shelter in the newly established borough of Oberneustadt. [[Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel|Landgrave Charles]], who was responsible for this humanitarian act, also ordered the construction of the ''Oktogon'' ([[Hercules monument (Kassel)|Hercules monument]]) and of the ''[[Orangerie (Kassel)|Orangerie]]''. In the late 18th century, Hesse-Kassel became infamous for selling mercenaries ([[Hessian (soldiers)|Hessians]]) to the British crown to help suppress the [[American Revolution]] and to finance the construction of palaces and the Landgrave's opulent lifestyle.

The [[Brothers Grimm]] lived in Kassel in the early 19th century, where they collected and wrote most of their [[fairy tales]]. At that time, around 1803, the Landgraviate was elevated to a Principality and its ruler to ''[[Prince-elector]]''. Shortly after, it was annexed by [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]] and became the capital of the short-lived [[Kingdom of Westphalia]] under Napoleon's brother [[Jérôme Bonaparte|Jérôme]]<nowiki/>in 1807. The Electorate was restored in 1813.

Having sided with Austria in the [[Austro-Prussian War]] to gain supremacy in Germany, the principality was annexed by [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] in 1866. The Prussian administration united [[Nassau (duchy)|Nassau]], Frankfurt and Hesse-Kassel into the new Prussian province of [[Hesse-Nassau]]. Kassel ceased to be a princely residence but soon developed into a major industrial centre as well as a major railway junction. [[Henschel & Son]], the largest railway [[locomotive]] manufacturer in Germany at the end of the nineteenth century, was based in Kassel.

In 1870, after the [[Battle of Sedan]], [[Napoleon III]] was sent as a prisoner to the [[Wilhelmshöhe Palace]] above the city. During World War I, the German military headquarters were located in the Wilhelmshöhe Palace. In the late 1930s, Nazis destroyed [[Heinrich Hübsch]]'s [[Kassel Synagogue]].

During World War II, Kassel was the headquarters for Germany's [[Wehrkreis]] IX, and a local subcamp of [[Dachau concentration camp]] provided [[forced labour]] for the [[Bombing of Kassel in World War II|Henschel facilities]], which included tank production plants.<ref>Edward Victor. ''Alphabetical List of Camps, Subcamps and Other Camps.'' www.edwardvictor.com/Holocaust/List %20 of % 20 camps. htm</ref> There was also a camp for [[Sinti]] and [[Romani people]] (see ''[[Romani Holocaust]]'').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1997|title=Lager für Sinti und Roma Kassel|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=24 October 2023|language=de}}</ref> [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] prisoners of war from the [[Stalag IX-A]] [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|POW camp]] were deployed to forced labour in the local arms industry in violation of the [[Geneva Conventions]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Megargee|first1=Geoffrey P.|last2=Overmans|first2=Rüdiger|last3=Vogt|first3=Wolfgang|year=2022|title=The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV|publisher=Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|page=451|isbn=978-0-253-06089-1}}</ref> The most severe [[bombing of Kassel in World War II]] destroyed 90% of the downtown area, and some 10,000 people were killed and 150,000 were made homeless.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Allied Destruction of Kassel |url=https://www.inyourpocket.com/kassel/the-allied-destruction-of-kassel_76982f |access-date=3 May 2025 |website=In Your Pocket}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Heavy Raid on Kassel |url=https://ron84z.neocities.org/43/10/images/431022a |access-date=2025-05-04 |website=ron84z.neocities.org}}</ref> Most of the casualties were civilians or wounded soldiers recuperating in local hospitals, whereas [[Bombing of Kassel in World War II|factories]] survived the attack generally undamaged.<ref>{{cite web |title=Allied Around the Clock bombing campaign 1943 Kassel |url=https://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/air/eur/sbc/43/tar/tkas-oct43.html |access-date=4 May 2025 |website=Histclo.com}}</ref> [[Karl Gerland]] replaced the regional [[Gauleiter]], [[Karl Weinrich]], soon after the raid.

The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Kassel at the beginning of April 1945. The US 80th Infantry Division [[Battle of Kassel (1945)|captured Kassel]] in house-to-house fighting during 1–4 April 1945, which included numerous German panzer-grenadier counterattacks, and resulted in further damage to bombed and unbombed structures alike.<ref>Stanton, Shelby, ''World War II Order of Battle: An Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division, 1939–1946'', Stackpole Books (Revised Edition 2006), p. 150</ref>

[[Post-war]], most of the ancient buildings in the city centre were not restored, and large parts of the inner city area were completely rebuilt in the style of the 1950s. A few historic buildings, however, such as the [[Fridericianum|Museum Fridericianum]], were restored. 

In 1949, the interim parliament ("[[Parlamentarischer Rat]]") eliminated Kassel in the first round as a city to become the provisional capital of the [[West Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]], which the western city of [[Bonn]] won.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hauptstadtbewerbung 1948/49 - Kassel West e.V. |url=https://www.vorderer-westen.net/geschichte/stadtteilgeschichte/hauptstadtbewerbung-194849/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=www.vorderer-westen.net}}</ref>

In 1964, the town hosted the fourth ''[[Hessentag]]'' state festival. 

In 1970, the Chancellor of West Germany [[Willy Brandt]] and the prime minister of the [[East Germany|German Democratic Republic]] [[Willy Stoph]] met in Wilhelmshöhe Palace for negotiations between the two German states.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-21 |title=Historischer Moment: Vor 50 Jahren fand das deutsch-deutsche Treffen in Kassel statt |url=https://www.hna.de/kassel/kassel-deutsch-deutsches-treffen-brandt-stoph-jahren-zr-13771187.html |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=www.hna.de |language=de}}</ref> In 1991, the central rail station moved from "Hauptbahnhof" (''main station'') to "Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe", the former now being used exclusively for regional trains. The city had a dynamic economic and social development in the recent years, reducing the unemployment rate by half and attracting new citizens.