Wilhelmshöhe Mountain Park, Kassel - The Interplay of Appearance and Reality, Germany (412/418)

Wilhelmshöhe Mountain Park, Kassel - The Interplay of Appearance and Reality, Germany (412/418)

Inspired by the gardens of Italy, the water features in Wilhelmshöhe Mountain Park were once the largest in the world and to this day, the park in Hessen is proudly proclaimed as the "largest mountain park in Europe". Thousands of visitors flock there on Wednesdays and Sundays during the summer months, when the fountains and streams are flowing. Built by the art-loving Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel to increase his own fame, and that of the region, throughout the world, it is still today a hugely popular tourist attraction: Baroque water architecture in a grandiose mountain park. Many generations have shaped and updated it; hardly any of Charles' successors has missed the opportunity to eternalize himself and his era in the park. In addition to the massive statue of Hercules from Charles' reign, the park currently features artificial waterfalls, mock ruins of Roman aqueducts, a huge fountain, numerous buildings and statuary and the artificial ruins of the Löwenburg castle. Over time, much has changed and in following those changes our journey is as much a journey through history as it is one through the art of gardening.