Palais Reichenbach

The Palais Reichenbach stood on Upper Königsstraße in Kassel as a noble town palace. Built in 1772 for General Johann Wilhelm von Gohr, it originally bore his name. Later it became home to Countess Reichenbach, mistress of Elector Wilhelm II, who gave it its lasting title. Its surviving features included a fine staircase and a side wing with a festival hall. After 1866 the building passed into private hands and housed the popular Palais-Restaurant, famous for its stucco ceilings, painted decorations and silk wallpapers. War damage in 1941 removed the street front, yet post-war rebuilding kept the staircase and hall as part of a new structure. Today only fragments remain beneath the modern office block. Excavations during demolition uncovered traces of the earlier Hessen-Rotenburg palace. The site is now a quiet corner of the city where traces of the past lie buried beneath the pavement.