Hello Kassel, Germany!

Thanks to Google Analytics, I can tell not only how many people are visiting this blog and Eye on Ehlers, but where they are viewing these sites, how they got to the site (i.e. by clicking the link on MichLib, using Google, etc.)

People have visited my blog from such places as Mount Pleasant, Bay City, Tallahassee... and Beijing, Tokyo, and Prague.

Some have even visited this wonderful blog from unheard-of places in different countries. So I thought I'd pay homage to those obscure towns and cities in the far reaches of the globe by featuring them on this blog. Perhaps, in so doing, I might even help fill the void that GW has left in America's foreign relations. (Okay, maybe not, but still.)

So let's start with Kassel, Germany, a city of roughly 194,176 people (roughly the size of Grand Rapids).

Wikipedia notes that Kassel has quite a long history:

The city's name is derived from the ancient Castellum Cattorum, a castle of the Chatti, a German tribe that has lived in the area since Roman times.

Kassel as such is first mentioned in 913 as the place where two deeds were signed by king Conrad I. The place was called Cqasella and was a fortification at a bridge crossing the Fulda river. A deed from 1189 certifies that Kassel had city rights, but the date of their conveyance is not known.

Still not intrigued? Germany's first public museum, theater, and observatory were all built in Kassel. The Brothers Grimm, Napoleon's brother, and the founder of Reuters all hailed from Kassell.

So here's a shout out to you, Kassel! Tell Mayor Bertram Hilgen that the people of the USA say "Guten Tag!"