Cassel
or 'KASSEL, formerly the residence of the Elector of Hesse-Cassel, is now the chief town in the province of Hesse-Nassau, Prussia, on the Fulda, 91 miles N. N. E. of Frankfort-on-the- Main. The Old and New Town are connected by a bridge over the Fulda. There are several fine squares, in the principal of which, the Friedrichsplatz, the largest in any town in Germany, stands the palace of the ex-elector, an indifferent structure. There is a museum and library (250,000 vols.), and a valuable picture-gallery. The city has manufactories of machinery, mathematical instruments, gold and silver wares, chemicals, knives, gloves, leather , porcechemi lain, etc. There are many fine walks and public gardens in the vicinity; among the latter are the gardens of Wilhelmshöhe, in which is situated the exthe exelector's summer palace, the residence of Napoleon III., while he was a prisoner of war, from Sept. 5, 1870, to March 19, 1871. Pop. about 170,000.