When it opened in the mid-19th century, Kassel's main railway station was considered one of the largest long-distance stations. When it lost its function as a supra-regional station in the early 1990s, the idea of a "cultural station" was born. Since then, it has developed into a successful location for cultural institutions and businesses in the cultural industry.
The former railway clothing store houses the "Caricatura", with which Kassel has developed into a centre for humour, caricature and satire. The two "Bali Kinos" offer a multi-award-winning film programme in an attractive cinema. A mix of café, restaurant, concert hall and club is "Gleis 1" in the former luggage check-in rooms. The former waiting room has been transformed into the "Stellwerk" art space, which is run as an exhibition space by students of the Kassel Art Academy. Right next door, in the rooms of the railway station mission, is the home of the Kassel Architecture Centre "KAZ im KuBa". And where once a station restaurant welcomed travellers, citizens' television is now made in the "Medienprojektzentrum Offener Kanal".
The listed south wing is one of the few original parts of the building that have been preserved. In addition to the "Spohr Museum" located there, the exhibition hall in the south wing offers space for exhibitions, conferences and individual events.
