Museum landscape Hessen Kassel
The Hessen Kassel Museum Landscape ( MHK for short ) is an institution of the State of Hesse . She is entrusted with the administration of art-historically significant properties and collections of the state in Kassel .
The properties in Kassel include the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe with the Hercules , the Wilhelmshöhe Castle , the Löwenburg , the Ballhaus and the Great Greenhouse , as well as the Karlsaue Park with its buildings, the orangery and the marble bath , the Hessian State Museum with the gate guard , and the New gallery . The properties outside Kassel include the Friedrichstein Castle Museum in Bad Wildungen and Wilhelmsthal Castle near Calden .
The Hessen Kassel Museum Landscape also looks after these properties and collections from an academic perspective and acts as the publisher of publications. From August 2009 until his retirement at the beginning of 2018, the art historian Bernd Küster was director of the MHK. His successor is Martin Eberle .
history
Land, buildings and collections go back to the landgraves and later electors of Hessen-Kassel . The centuries-old, princely core collection has been preserved in its diversity until today. In Germany, such unity can only be found in the collections of Dresden and Munich. The landgraves and electors collected in the field of astronomy and individual handicrafts, brought important European artists, mathematicians and architects to their court and dealt with antiquity and contemporary art. The collections arose partly out of reasons of state, partly out of the personal interest of the landgraves and electors. From the middle of the 19th century, donations and loans from the bourgeoisie also contributed to the completion of the historical inventory. This type of collection expansion is continued to this day. In 1866, after the annexation of Hessen-Kassel, Prussia transferred the then princely collections to state administration for the first time. In 1924 these were combined as the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Kassel and given a joint administration and scientific management. In 1945, with the establishment of the State of Hesse, this institution passed into the care and ownership of the State of Hesse. In 1992 the institution was renamed the Kassel State Museums . In 2006 there was a restructuring: the Kassel State Museums merged with the Kassel properties of the administration of the State Palaces and Gardens of Hesse . In this context, the name was changed to Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel (MHK) .
- Directors
- 1924–1928: Johannes Boehlau
- 1928–1945: Kurt Luthmer
- 1946–1961: Hans Vogel
- 1962–1982: Erich Herzog
- 1982–1995: Ulrich Schmidt
- 1995-2000: Hans Ottomeyer
- 2000–2008: Michael Eissenhauer
- 2009–2017: Bernd Küster
- since May 1, 2018: Martin Eberle
Properties and collections
In the city of Kassel, the Hessen Kassel Museum Landscape looks after and operates the following facilities and parks:
Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe
The Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe is looked after by the Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel and is a baroque complex with the Wilhelmshöhe Palace , the Hercules statue and the 250 meter long cascades that were built at the beginning of the 18th century. Later it was further developed into a landscape park. A spacious, idealized natural landscape was created with waterfalls, aqueducts and fountains (water features). The mountain park on the slope of the Habichtswald is one of the largest in Europe. The entire complex, from the Hercules building over the cascades to the castle, to the baroque axis extending to the city as an expression of the princely representation of power is unique worldwide. On June 23, 2013, the mountain park was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Hessen Kassel Museum Landscape takes on the horticultural, cultural and museum maintenance and care of the mountain park. She looks after and operates there in particular:
Hercules
The Hercules with the octagon forms the highest point in the mountain park. It was built between 1700 and 1717 by the Italian architect Giovanni Francesco Guerniero under Landgrave Karl von Hessen-Kassel . The statue of Hercules is 8.30 m high and was made by the Augsburg goldsmith Johann Jakob Anthoni based on the example of the ancient Hercules Farnese . There is a visitor platform on the octagon.
Water features
The summer water features are a special attraction . They extend from the cascades below the Herkules over the Steinhöfer waterfall, the devil's bridge and the aqueduct as well as the Peneus cascades down to the castle pond. The “Great Fountain” concludes here.
Museum Schloss Wilhelmshöhe
The Wilhelmshöhe Castle was begun in 1786 in several stages. Nowadays it houses the antique collection , the old masters picture gallery , the graphic collection and in the Weißenstein wing the castle museum in the Weißenstein wing . In addition, there is a historic chapel, a bistro and the administration of the Hessen Kassel Museum Landscape in Wilhelmshöhe Palace.
The Weißenstein wing is the south wing of the castle. It was created in the years 1786–1790 and was used as a landgrave's living and representation room. Today the historic castle rooms, such as B. dining room, portrait gallery, writing room, and bathroom can be visited. Furniture and fittings from the Empire period as well as holdings from the electoral library and the porcelain collection are presented.
The permanent exhibition of the Antikensammlung is divided into the areas of archeology, sculpture, myth, Greeks, Romans and Hercules. Didactic offers are intended to establish a connection between the antique exhibits on display and the present.
The Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister contains European paintings from the late Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Classicism periods. Dutch and Flemish painting of the 17th century are a focal point.
The graphic collection consists of over 60,000 hand drawings, prints, posters and illustrated books from the late Middle Ages to contemporary art. Regionally, it extends from Germany to the Netherlands and France to Italy. The extensive collection of architectural drawings for the construction projects of the Hessian landgraves is a special feature.
Löwenburg
The Löwenburg was built between 1793 and 1801 under Landgrave Wilhelm IX. of Hesse-Kassel, later I. Elector Wilhelm from the court architect Heinrich Christoph Jussow built. Inside there are princely living rooms with historical furnishings. Due to renovation work, only the armory, the castle chapel and the outdoor facilities, including the Wolfsschlucht and the castle and castle gardens, can be visited as part of a guided tour.
Ballhaus
The ballroom stands next to Wilhelmshöhe Castle. It is kept simple on the outside, but is equipped with a large, magnificently painted ballroom on the inside. The ballroom was built in 1808/1809 by Leo von Klenze on behalf of Napoleon's brother, Jérôme Bonaparte , during his reign in Kassel. The interior was only given in 1828 by the Kassel architect Johann Conrad Bromeis . Due to extensive renovation work, the ballroom cannot be visited at the moment (2016).
Big greenhouse
The large greenhouse is located near the palace and was built in 1822/23 by the court architect Johann Conrad Bromeis under Elector Wilhelm II to cultivate precious exotic plants. The interior can be visited in the winter months.
Visitor centers
The old station building at the terminus of the current tram line 1 was built in 1898. Since 2008 it has housed one of two visitor centers in the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe ( Wilhelmshöhe visitor center ). The other visitor center is located at the Hercules Monument in a specially built building and was opened in 2011 ( Hercules Visitor Center ).
Further structures in the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe
- The old post office , which was built in 1897 for Kaiser Wilhelm II, who regularly spent the summers in the neighboring Wilhelmshöhe Palace, is now the museum education department of the Hessen Kassel Museum Landscape ( creative MHK ).
- The house, initially built under Landgrave Friedrich II for a court gardener's apartment and furnished as a cavalier house in 1788, is now one of the administrative buildings of the Hessen Kassel Museum Landscape.
- The former stables have been preserved . The so-called gardener's house forms the northern end of the western stables wing . Today it houses the garden administration of the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe.
- Several simple preserved greenhouses are to the west of the former stables. Most of them date from the 20th century and are now used by the Wilhelmshöhe nursery.
Karlsaue Park
The Karlsaue State Park was created around 1700 as a baroque park. At the end of the 18th century it was transformed into a landscape park and made accessible to a wider public. In the park there is the Siebenbergen Island , the orangery and the marble bath.
Orangery
The orangery in the Karlsaue was built between 1701 and 1710 under Landgrave Karl . In winter it served as a greenhouse for numerous orange and laurel trees. The two corner pavilions were the summer residence of the landgrave couple. Nowadays the orangery houses the astronomical-physical cabinet and a planetarium. Your west pavilion is regularly used for special exhibitions.
The Astronomical-Physical Cabinet contains the exhibition areas astronomy, clocks, geodesy, physics and mathematics / information technology. The creation of the collection is due to the continuous promotion of the natural sciences by the Hessian landgraves, but also to their passion for collecting curiosities.
The Kassel Planetarium has a dome diameter of ten meters and offers space for 50 people. The program is designed by the Astronomical Working Group in Kassel.
Marble bathroom
The marble bath next to the orangery is Germany's last significant and well-preserved representative bathing facility from the late baroque period. It was built between 1722 and 1728 under Landgrave Karl von Hessen-Kassel . The interior design, marble sculptures and wall reliefs as well as medallions and portrait busts, were created by the Roman sculptor Pierre-Étienne Monnot . The inside of the building can be viewed in the summer months.
Siebenbergen Island
The Siebenbergen Island is a small island with flowers botanical diversity on the southern edge of the Karlsaue. It can be viewed by visitors.
Hessian State Museum
The Hessian State Museum is located on Brüder-Grimm-Platz , on the edge of the city center and at the beginning of Wilhelmshöher Allee . Designed by the architect Theodor Fischer , the museum was inaugurated on August 23, 1913, for the millennium of the city of Kassel.
Collections in the Hessian State Museum
Until 2008, the Hessian State Museum housed the collections on prehistory, applied arts, folklore and the German Wallpaper Museum. The German Wallpaper Museum is to be presented at a new location in the future.
Gate guard
The gate guard building is located next to the Hessian State Museum on Brüder-Grimm-Platz . The building is part of an unfinished gate system that the architect Heinrich Christoph Jussow designed in 1805. Handicrafts from historicism to contemporary design are exhibited there. The gate guard is closed until further notice.
New gallery
The Neue Galerie is located on the so-called “beautiful view” between the town hall and Karlsaue . It was built between 1871 and 1877 according to plans by the architect Heinrich von Dehn-Rotfelser in the neo-renaissance style based on the example of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich by Leo von Klenze . The building originally housed the Old Masters Picture Gallery . After it was destroyed in the Second World War, this collection was moved to Wilhelmshöhe Castle . In 1976 the Neue Galerie opened with a new concept and under its current name. Since then she has presented art from the 18th century to the present day. In November 2011 the house was reopened after extensive renovation work. The redesign was supervised by the architectural office Volker Staab .
Outside the city of Kassel, the Hessen Kassel Museum Landscape looks after and operates the following facilities and parks:
Friedrichstein Castle Museum
The Friedrichstein Castle Museum is located in the north of Bad Wildungen . Initially a medieval building, Josias II von Waldeck began to build a baroque palace based on the French model around 1660 on the same site. After extensive restoration work by the state of Hesse as the owner, the palace has been available to the Hessen Kassel Museum Landscape (then Kassel State Museums ) as an exhibition space since 1980 . Since then, two collections have been presented here that have not been on display since 1937: the collections on the Hessian military and hunting history, which were formerly housed in the Hessian State Museum.
The collection on Hessian military history includes historical weapons, uniforms, medals and paintings from the Middle Ages to the annexation of the electorate to Prussia (1866). This collection is supplemented by militaria from the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont , whose princes had Friedrichstein Castle built.
The collection complex of hunting equipment and hunting weapons from the 16th to 19th centuries comes from former landgraves' possessions. These objects show the wealth and diversity of a princely hunting chamber.
Wilhelmsthal Palace and Park
The Wilhelmsthal castle in Calden near Kassel, is considered one of the most beautiful rococo -Castles Germany. It was built under Landgrave Wilhelm VIII of Hessen-Kassel between 1747 and 1761 according to the designs of the Munich court architect François de Cuvilliés . The interiors were designed by the sculptor Johann August Nahl . The castle rooms and their furnishings and fittings can be viewed on a guided tour. The castle park invites you to take a walk.
Web links
Other museums:
Individual evidence
- ↑ About us. About history. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ Hercules and Octagon. Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ Water games in the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ museum-kassel.de
- ↑ Weissenstein Wing. Bergpark and Wilhelmshöhe Castle. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ Collections. Collection of antiquities. Museum Schloss Wilhelmshöhe. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ Collections. Old Masters Picture Gallery. Museum Schloss Wilhelmshöhe. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ Collections. Graphic collection. Museum Schloss Wilhelmshöhe. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ locations. Löwenburg. Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ museum-kassel.de
- ↑ museum-kassel.de
- ↑ locations. Ballhaus. Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ locations. Big greenhouse. Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ museum-kassel.de
- ^ Water arts and Hercules in the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe. Nomination for entry in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Hessian Ministry for Science and Art (applicant), Verhoeven, Jenifer (editor) (2011), nomination dose, Kassel: bird, p. 67.
- ^ Water arts and Hercules in the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe. Nomination for entry in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Hessian Ministry for Science and Art (applicant), Verhoeven, Jenifer (editor) (2011), nomination dose, Kassel: bird, p. 67.
- ^ Water arts and Hercules in the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe. Nomination for entry in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Hessian Ministry for Science and Art (applicant), Verhoeven, Jenifer (editor) (2011), nomination dose, Kassel: bird, p. 67.
- ↑ locations. Orangery. Karlsaue Park. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ museum-kassel.de
- ↑ Collections. Astronomical-physical cabinet. Orangery. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ locations. Planetarium. (No longer available online.) Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel, archived from the original on December 21, 2014 ; Retrieved May 17, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ locations. Marble bathroom. Karlsaue Park. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ museum-kassel.de
- ↑ museum-kassel.de
- ↑ locations. Friedrichstein Castle Museum. Bad Wildungen. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ Collections. Hunting Chamber and Hessian Military History. Friedrichstein Castle Museum. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
- ↑ locations. Wilhelmsthal Palace and Park. Calden. Museum landscape Hessen Kassel, accessed on May 17, 2015 .
