Kassel.

Kassel sits in northern Hesse on the Fulda river, known for contemporary art and landscaped parkland. Every five years it becomes the stage for documenta, one of the world's leading exhibitions of contemporary art, filling converted halls and public squares across the city with new work. Above the centre, the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe climbs a wooded hillside in a sequence of baroque terraces and cascading fountains, crowned by the Hercules monument and recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Brothers Grimm lived and worked in Kassel while compiling their collected fairy tales, a history traced at the Grimmwelt museum. Near the park, the Orangerie houses historic astronomical instruments within formal gardens, and the Museum of Natural History is a quieter stop for those interested in geology and local wildlife. Outside exhibition years, the city keeps a steady rhythm of parks and museums, with forested hills rising at its edges.