Tourist Attractions in Celle
The old ducal town of Celle on the Aller, on the southern fringe of Lüneburg Heath, has preserved its character as a princely capital down to our own day. The rectangular layout of the picturesque half-timbered streets of the old town is aligned on the palace.
Kloster Wienhausen
Kloster Wienhausen, 10km/6mi southeast of Celle, was once a former Cistercian nunnery (13th-14th C.), and is now a Protestant house of retreat for women (nuns' choir; 14th C. wall and ceiling paintings and a Holy Sepulchre of 1445; famous 14th and 15th C. tapestries, shown only once a year at Whitsun).
Old Town
Celle's old town, with its picturesque half-timbered streets and lanes, lies to the east of the palace. Particularly fine is Kalandgasse, with the old Latin School. At its south end is the Stechbahn, once the scene of knightly tournaments.
Bergen-Belsen
In Bergen-Belsen, 7km/4.5mi southwest of Bergen (25km/15mi north of Celle), was the Nazi concentration camp of Belsen, now razed to the ground. Its site is marked by a commemorative obelisk.
Bomann Museum
The Bomann Museum in Celle has a rich collection of material on the history of Hannover, including a Lower Saxon farmhouse of 1571.
Celler Land Express
An old-time railroad, the Celler Land Express runs north from Celle to Müden and northeast to Hankensbüttel; the journey takes 75 minutes in each direction.
Palace
The Celle Schloss, built partly in the Late Gothic period and partly in the Baroque style of the second half of the 17th century, was the residence of the Dukes of Brunswick and Lüneburg from 1292 to 1866. It has fine state apartments and the oldest court theater in Germany (1674); the chapel has a sumptuous Renaissance interior.
Hours
April 1 to October 31
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Closed | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| Close | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 |
November 1 to March 31
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Closed | 11:00 | 11:00 | 11:00 | 11:00 | 11:00 | 11:00 |
| Close | 15:00 | 15:00 | 15:00 | 15:00 | 15:00 | 15:00 |
Always closed on:
Christmas Eve - Christian (December 24)
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Guides
Guided tour included with admission.
Provincial Stud Farm
Straddling the river Fuhse in Celle is the Provincial Stud Farm, founded in 1735 by the Elector of Hannover, who was also George II of Britain (breeding of stallions; stallion parades in autumn).
Town Church
The Town Church (14th and 17th C.) in Celle's Markt has epitaphs and grave slabs of the last Dukes of Celle and a princely burial vault (tomb of the Danish Queen Caroline Mathilde, d. 1775).
