Kassel

“On our longer excursions, we got to know Kassel, the Weserland, Goslar, and the Hartz Mountains” (Stein, Life in a Jewish Family, 244).

“But I had drawn up an all-inclusive program for them to make sure they would see: the beautiful Weser and Leine Mountains; Kassel and its magnificent picture galleries; the fascinating old Hannoverisch-Münden, and Hildesheim” (Stein, Life in a Jewish Family, 224).

While a student in Göttingen, Edith had the opportunity to experience a different region of Germany – Lower Saxony (German: Niedersachsen). She traveled throughout the surrounding region, visiting small historic towns and experiencing the local nature alike, and even drew up itineraries for her family and friends when they came to visit her during the height of the semester.

Following a busy Karneval season, I needed a break from beloved Colonia, so I decided to leave Nordrhein-Westphalen for a week-long tour of Niedersachsen, including stopping for a few days in Kassel, a town Stein noted for its “magnificent picture galleries” (Stein, Life in a Jewish Family, 224).

Early in the morning on Ash Wednesday, I headed to Cologne’s main train station. After a short stop-over in Frankfurt, I took a train trip just short of two hours to the nearby Kassel.

Stein in Stained Glass

Ash Wednesday is one of my favorite days of the church year. Despite by busy travel schedule, I knew I wanted to make it to a service. As it just so happened, I managed to kill two birds with one stone by attending an Ash Wednesday service at a church that memorializes Stein in stained glass.

I traveled to the Herz-Jesu-Kirche just outside of the Kassel city center, where I attended a small Ash Wednesday service conducted for and by elementary school students. The church itself was a beautiful modern Catholic church – I feel like these are actually pretty hard to come by!

Kassel’s Museums

After the Ash Wednesday service, I made my way into the city center of Kassel, where I spent most of my time. I stayed at the beautiful boutique Renthof Kassel, a converted 13th-century monastery, which set a lovely tone for my visit. I ducked in and out of cafés and coffee shops during my visit, enjoying the city’s coffee and doing a bit of research on Stein’s time in the city.

I had already experienced some of Kassel’s museums when I visited the city a few years prior – I thoroughly enjoyed the Dokumentum and Fredericium during that trip! But this time, I wanted to figure out exactly what art museums Stein remembered as so “magnificent.”

With a bit of sleuthing, I tracked down the town’s noted collection of the “old masters.” In the early 1900s, this collection of Rembrandt and others housed in the city center in a building that is now a geological museum. (By happenstance, I found myself there one morning – I just had to take a selfie with my “new friend,” the dinosaur outside!) But when the collection began to outgrow its space, it was moved to Schloss Wilhelmshöhe.

I spent my last day in Kassel enjoying Berpark Wilhlemshöhe, the beautiful city park surrounding the palace where the art collection is now located. Not pictured: the seemingly constant rain showers!