Northern Hesse inspired the Brothers Grimm, hosts documenta, delights food-lovers with the ahle wurscht and is home to men of action and to world market leaders. This intersection can only be found in northern Hesse. The best basis for great objectives.

With just under 200,000 inhabitants, Kassel is the metropolis of northern Hesse and the third largest city in the whole of Hesse, after Frankfurt and Wiesbaden. Located right on the Fulda, the city is a modern shopping and economic centre. Kassel has unique sights and a wide-ranging cultural programme on an international level: Europe's largest mountain park with the symbol of Kassel - the Hercules monument, the Karlsaue with the Orangery, Wilhelmshöhe Castle or the Fridericianum. Every five years, the largest art exhibition of modern art, documenta, lures the international art scene to Kassel.

To the north of the city, there is the Reinhardswald with Sleeping Beauty's Castle Sababurg from the year 1300. Along with a variety of other sites, it embodies the regional roots of Grimms' fairy tales. You can also discover Mother Hulda in various different ways: in the Meissner-Kaufungen Forest Nature Park, which is connected to Kassel at the East and marks the border between Hesse and Lower Saxony. From the highest mountain of northern Hesse (750 metres), the Hoher Meissner, you can enjoy an incomparable view of the surrounding scenery.

The Edersee located to the south-west of Kassel and the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park surrounding it, which is a UNESCO natural world heritage site, is a recreational and leisure paradise for hikers, mountain bikers, divers, sailors and water sports enthusiasts. The high dam wall and Waldeck Castle are particularly impressive.

In the south, the festival in the monastery ruins attracts visitors to Bad Hersfeld, which is known as the "Salzburg of Hesse" far beyond the state's borders. The nucleus of the Kurhessen mountainous area is the Schwalm-Eder district with its lively tradition of folklore which is reflected, for example, in the famous Schwalm costume.

www.kassel.de/englisch

The Hersfeld-Rotenburg district is surrounded by a varied mountainous landscape, which extends from the Stölzinger Mountains in the north through the Fulda and Haune Valley up to the foothills of the Rhön Mountains. 20 towns and municipalities with a total of 162 places form the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district and achieve a population of about 122,000 people.

In a logistically perfect location, the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district is a hub for the flow of goods from all directions in central Europe: with the intersection of the motorways A7, A5 and A4 and the location at the centre of the European rail network, the connection of the ICE to the European rail network and the freight transport hub in Bebra.

Industrial and business parks and the logistics centres provide scope for major investors and thus make the settlement of new companies possible. Good conditions for the creation of new jobs to further reduce the unemployment rate of 4.9% (as at 2015).

www.hef-rof.de

Approx. 237,000 people live in the district of Kassel. As the region is in a central location in Germany and, therefore, also in Europe, it is easily accessible. Well-developed transport links, such as the north-south axis A7 and the A 44 as a link to the Ruhr district provide the optimum conditions for the logistics sector. And the latter is booming in the economic region of Kassel.

The Volkswagen plant in Baunatal is the largest company in the region with 13,500 employees, followed by the central spare parts warehouse of the Volkswagen Group (OTC). The latter supplies vehicle parts for more than 42 million cars throughout the world. Medium-sized companies have also secured market positions: for example, SMA Solar Technology with its main plant in Niestetal, which is now the global market leader for solar inverters.

The unemployment rate is also falling. In 2010, it was still 5.2%; in 2015, just 4.8%.

www.landkreiskassel.de

The Schwalm-Eder district: densely wooded mountains of the Habichtswald, the Knüll Mountains and the Kellerwald, the rivers Schwalm, Eder and Fulda, colourful half-timberwork in 27 towns and municipalities, a multifaceted economic structure and an open-minded population of approximately 182,000 inhabitants. In this district, tradition meets modernity, cultural history meets innovation, and a regionally typical and interesting profile is created.

The central location in Germany is a real advantage: important transport links in the district are the fast railways to Dortmund, Munich and Hanover, as well as the German motorways A7 and the A49 which connect the district to the A44. Through these motorway links, important economic areas, such as the Rhine/Main region, the cities in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Hanover area can be reached in just a short time (approx. 200 km). Doubtless one of the reasons why the unemployment rate fell from 5.8% in 2010 to 5.0% in 2015.

www.schwalm-eder-kreis.de

Unspoiled nature, countless leisure activities and an extensive cultural programme with 30 museums and concerts: it is no wonder that the Waldeck-Frankenberg district can register almost 3.3 million overnight stays per year - the highest number in northern Hesse.

The highlight is the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park with its ancient giant trees (UNESCO natural world heritage site). Moreover, historic city centres and half-timbered villages are waiting to be discovered. Sports enthusiasts and people seeking recreation are drawn to the Edersee, the Diemelsee and the Twistesee or to Willingen in the Upland region - and not just for skiing.

With 161,000 inhabitants and a low unemployment rate of 4.6% (as at 2015), Waldeck-Frankenberg is an excellent business location. The high quality of life is accompanied by an extensive range of educational opportunities.

www.das-gute-leben.de

In the middle instead of on the outside: Our region lies in the heart of Germany, on the Green Belt, in the border triangle of Hesse/Thuringia/Lower Saxony. We are worth living and loving, we know how to stick together, and we offer entrepreneurs and families sufficient opportunities for growth.

Air, space, silence are our feel-good arguments. Economic, ecological and social responsibility are our strengths. Living and working can be ideally combined here. In the middle of Germany, attractive and innovative.

Welcome to the Werra-Meißner district!

www.werra-meissner.de