Great events often cast their shadows early on, and the Herkules hill climb, one of the most famous and beautiful hill climbs in Germany, which took place in Kassel at the foot of the Herkules from 1923 to 1927, is no exception.
Legendary drivers
Back then, famous drivers such as Rudolf Caracciola, Karl Kappler, Carl Jörns and Adolf Rosenberger took part.
When the trend at the end of the 1920s was towards circuit races instead of hill climbs, there were no longer enough vehicles for the Herkules hill climb and it was discontinued for economic reasons. However, there were plans to develop the Kassel track as a leading race track in Germany.
Motorcycles instead of cars
From 1951 to 1954, the event was repeated as a pure motorcycle race in front of well over 80,000 enthusiastic spectators. Once again, there was talk of expanding the track, perhaps to make it suitable for Formula 3 racing, but this would have meant staging up to eight races for economic reasons.
In 1955, the first Federal Garden Show in Germany was held there and all plans were buried. Between 2005 and 2013, the initiative of Heinz W. Jordan and Dr. Dietrich Krahn led to a renaissance as a classic car event with up to 65,000 visitors.
For the 100th anniversary
From 28.04. to 30.04. 2023, J & K Automobiles Kulturgut presents the birthday celebration for the 100th anniversary in Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe. A very high-caliber rolling museum will be on display on a 4.5 km closed circuit. There will be 40 selected racing cars and motorcycles at the start to thrill the public.
An attractive supporting program featuring historic vehicles and classic car clubs will round off the event.
The organization is delighted to have the support of the Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel and the city of Kassel for this very ambitious event.
Further information will follow soon.
