Hercules monument (Kassel)
The Hercules momument is an important landmark in the German city of Kassel. It is located in the "Bergpark (Castlepark) Wilhelmshöhe", northern Hesse, Germany.
Hercules is a copper statue depicting the ancient Greek demigod Heracles (Gr. Ηρακλής, German Herkules). The statue is located at the top of a Pyramid, which stands on top of the Octagon; the statue and the other parts of the monument were constructed at different times. Today "Hercules" refers not only to the statue, but the whole monument, including the Octago and Pyramid. The monument is the highest point in the Wilhelmshöhe Bergpark.
The monument is located in Bad Wilhelmshöhe, on the Eastern ridge of the Habichtswald. It was built in an artificial dell of the Karlsberg (526m above sea level) on the most western and at the same time highest location (515 m) of the line of sight Schloss Wilhelmshöhe - Hercules.
Building history
Construction of the Bergpark began in 1696. The Hercules statue was built in the years 1701 to 1717 and is based on the design of the Italian Giovanni Francesco Guerniero. The entire complex is the Northern-most part of the park and is an important baroque aspect of the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe.
Octagon & statue
The Hercules monument has a total height of 70.5 meters. 32.65 meters are accounted for by the Octagon; 29.60 meters for the Pyramid and 8.25 meters for the Hercules statue itself. The height difference between top of the statue and the bottom of the cascades is 179 meters.
Cascades
The Cascades are a 250m long stone structure that forms gigantic waterstairs.
Building material
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Reconstruction at the Hercules monument in autumn 2006 -
January 2007 - Hercules still cloaked
The complete structure (Octagon & Cascades) are made of Tuff that was exhausted from stone pits nearby. This soft material has the advantage of a good workability but weathers quickly, particularly by frost-related erosion. This rapid weathering process has been a structural issue for the statue in its 300 years of existence. In late 2005 a complete restructuring process of the entire monument, including the Hercules statue, was initiated. Expected to be completed in 2009, the restoration of the statue and monuments has been estimated to cost more than 24 million Euro.
External links
Literature
- Giovanni Francesco Guerniero, Delineatio Montis, Cassel 1706
- Faksimile, Leipzig 1988 (auch Stuttgart 1988)
- Paul Heidelbach, Die Geschichte der Wilhelmshöhe. Klinkhardt & Biermann, Leipzig, 1909
- Faksimile, Hrsg: Dieter Carl, Vellmar 2005
- Christiane Lukatis (Hrsg.), Herkules. Tugendheld und Herrscherideal. Das Herkules- Monument in Kassel- Wilhelmshöhe., Eurasburg 1997, ISBN 3-9323-5306-4
- Thomas Ludwig, Der Herkules in Kassel, 2004, ISBN 3-7954-1668-X