Kasselgrund
Kasselgrund is called the valley of the Kasselbach near Biebergemünd in the Hessian Spessart . In the Kassel district , the 6.5 km long Kasselbach flows into the Bieber , which in turn is a tributary of the Kinzig .
Geography and landscape
The Kasselbach rises, fed by several sources , in the wooded ridge between Bieber and Bad Orb below the Long Mountain . The source area is a wetland. The valley widens after about 4 km in the lower section to a broad meadow, which the Hoppesberg with the Alteburg , a prehistoric settlement of the Celts , overlooks. On its last kilometer to its confluence with the Bieber, the Kasselbach flows through the center of Kassel .
In addition to red sandstone , there was also basalt on the ridge above the Kasselgrund until the middle of the 20th century ; the formation was geologically related to the Beilstein and the Madstein above the Orb spring . The basalt deposits at the Blue Quarry , however, are almost entirely exploited. The contact zone between the magma and the sandstone during the volcanic eruptions around 10 to 20 million years ago can still be clearly recognized by the fact that the sandstone there has lost its red color and instead looks gray-white.
history
A Celtic settlement is only proven on the height (Alteburg), but not in the Kasselgrund, which first appeared in documents in the Middle Ages (976, Cassela ). Until 1803 it belonged territorially to Kurmainz , after the Congress of Vienna it came to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1815 . In 1867, the Kassel reason went into the new Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau , which according to the German war of 1866 from the of Prussia annexed states of Hesse-Kassel, Nassau and Frankfurt , and ceded territories (such as the Kassel reason) after the peace treaty with Bavaria , formed has been. Since 1945 it belonged to the state of Hesse .
The water of the Kasselbach drove several mills since the late Middle Ages. The Obermühle (1582), Kunkelsmühle (1655), Günthersmühle (1668), Riethmühle (1809) and Lohmühle (1811) are documented. The infrastructure was problematic due to frequent flooding of the valley floor. Four of the mills have been preserved - in a rebuilt and converted condition.
In the early 19th century, basalt mining began at the Blue Quarry . From this material was u. a. that part of the "Frankfurter spring water pipeline" built in 1874/75, which covered the four springs of the Kasselgrund - Kasselquelle, Hummelsborn, Langenborn and Gießerborn. The tunnel entrances are still preserved - at the Gießerborn dating from 1874 - and the area is still a water protection area under the care of the Hessenwasser . The basalt quarry was used until the mid-1960s.
Agriculture in Kasselgrund was always difficult due to the nutrient-poor soil. In the past, blueberries were collected on a large scale in specially made baskets; a copy of this Halebier crank is kept in the Bad Orb local history museum .
The lower Kasselgrund is today partly a weekend house colony, partly horse paddock and pasture. A lively club life in Kassel leads to a variety of activities by hobby farmers around horses, cattle and historical agricultural equipment. The middle and upper Kasselgrund is a leisure, cycling and hiking area.
Infrastructure today
Two roads lead through the lower Kasselgrund: the upper one ( Im Kasselgrund ) leads past the Ober- and Günthersmühle to the weekend house colony, the lower one ( Villbacher Strasse ) past Loh- and Riethmühle after approx. 2.5 km to the hiking car park " Kasselgrund “at the forester's house / edge of the forest in the area of the blue quarry .
The redesigned former mills are now used for various purposes. The Obermühle on the outskirts of Kassel is a nature kindergarten ( animal adventure farm ). The Günthersmühle, closed in 1908, has been nature lovers' accommodation since 1929 ; it was completely renovated in the 1990s and provided with a thermal solar system. The Kunkelsmühle no longer exists. The Lohmühle with ponds (in operation until 1959) and the Riethmühle (until 1972) are private residential buildings.
From the parking lot, Villbacher Straße is unpaved and only open to cyclists and hikers. It leads over the Kasselgrund to Villbach to the height above the Bad Orb-Jossgrund golf course. In the headwaters of the Kasselbach it crosses the Bieberer Steig at a large oak ( natural monument ) , which leads to the Jägerkreuz , a memorial cross from the 18th century for a Kurmainzer hunter who was shot by a poacher on this path.
Part of the hiking trail through the Kasselgrund coincides with the European cultural trail "Biebergemünd II" as part of the Archaeological Spessart project ; This 6 km long path with three stops in Kasselgrund is also part of the Keltenstraße - with regard to its three other stops at the Alteburg .