Celle

Celle is a town in Lower Saxony, 35 kilometers from Hannover. It will be interesting to fans of half-timbered architecture. There's about 500 restored 16-18 century buildings in the old town.

The ducal palace (castle), the most important building of the town, dates back to the 13th century. In the 14th century, the former fortification became a royal seat. As of the year 1530, with the advent of the Reformation under Duke Ernest the Confessor, the castle was rebuilt into a Renaissance palace. During the reign of Duke George William (1665-1705) and his spouse Eléonore d'Olbreuse extensive rebuildings were realized. These have given the palace its present baroque appearance.

The palace chapel, consecrated in 1485 and rebuilt after the Reformation, is today the only intact early protestant court chapel in Germany and an important indication of North German renaissance. The palace theatre was built around 1675 and today it is the oldest baroque theatre in Germany. Historical palace rooms and the chapel can only be visited on a guided tour.


Celle has a website in English with a detailed description of all streets.


















Ten years after our first visit, we stopped for a walk in the French Garden (Französischer Garten). Here we found another Renaissance castle from 1611.




Nearby there are also old half-timbered buildings, in which the institute of beekeeping is located.




Also in the park there is a large pond from 1770 with a fountain.


And the rose garden


Getting there: By regional train from Hannover. We went once by bikes from Hannover, but it was pretty hard.