Top 20 Natural Monuments around Fuldatal

The park around the castle is beautifully laid out with flower borders and the café invites you to linger with tables in the countryside and a good offer.

It's really nice to be standing where Fulda and Werra "kiss" and the Weser is formed. You have an even better overview from the car bridge with bicycle and pedestrian path across the street.

Here the Weser begins at the confluence of the Fulda and Werra - the cycle path to Bremen is mostly well developed and recommendable.

The water bubbles over the cascades, the Steinhöfer waterfall, the Devil's Bridge and falls over the aqueduct and the Peneus cascades down to the castle pond. Here the water pressure causes the "Great Fountain" to shoot up over 50 meters. This spectacle is the conclusion and highlight of the water games. Always on Wednesdays, Sundays and on public holidays at certain times.

The statue, which is considered a landmark of the city of Kassel, is located at the top of a pyramid that stands on the octagon, the giant castle. Today, the name "Hercules" not only stands for the statue, but for the entire building, which is also the starting point for the summer water games in the mountain park. The octagon and the Hercules go back to different construction phases. Since June 23, 2013, the Hercules - as part of the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe - has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List as an example of absolutist architecture.

The Höllenteich, as well as the Steinhöfer waterfalls, the Teufelsbrücke and Herkules, are among the most beautiful excursion sites that I have hiked to. Shady in summer, beautiful in autumn, EVERYONE must have been here.

Behind the Höllenteich, the first view of the buildings that line the path to Hercules opens up.

In 1696, Landgrave Carl von Hessen-Kassel decided to create a mountain park directly behind his Weißenstein hunting lodge, which was to be on a par with the gardens of Versailles. The Huguenot inventor Denis Papin was to develop a steam-powered fountain for this purpose, as he was one of the developers of the first steam engine. Since there were repeated setbacks, Papin was no longer financed and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz declined due to lack of interest. Instead, a 60 m long model for a mountain park was designed with the Italian architect Guerniero, of which only a third was ultimately realized. From 1701, the expansion for the elaborate water features began, which only took place 13 years later for the first time. Instead of using steam power, the fountains now worked exclusively with the water pressure from a higher pond. The water covers a height difference of 320 m over a 2 km flow distance. The finale is a 50 m high fountain, which shoots up solely due to the water pressure. With these impressive water features, Landgrave Carl wanted to express the power of his county on the one hand, and the power of man over nature. Over 130 years, his successors expanded the mountain park. Only when the county was abolished by Prussia did the expansion come to an end, but Prussian rulers such as Kaiser Wilhelm II also liked to stay in Kassel, where they used the Bergpark. The site was preserved and still functions as it did more than 300 years ago. A visit to the mountain park is a must! If you want to hike the entire park, you should be able to walk well and plan enough time and a few meters of altitude. The always new views and numerous sights are worth all the effort. Even without the water games, which take place every Wednesday and Sunday, the mountain park is a unique attraction. Those who are not good on foot should at least enjoy the incredible view of Kassel in front of the Hercules.