One of our most surprising and totally unexpected "finds" on this entire trip was the town of Celle. We never even heard of this place and would most likely have missed it, were it not for our friends in Berlin that recommended to make an overnight stop here. Well, we are sure glad that they did - and that we listened, because we found a fairlyland town with a castle right near the town center with hundreds upon hundreds of well preserved, original-construct medieval era half-timbered houses: it was an absolute feast for our eyes, and it was so compact that we managed to see everything in just the one afternoon we had at our disposal. But enough talking - have a look yourself at the images - and forgive me if I couldn't trim the numbers down, you will see them over the next 5 posts. But first some "proper" information on Celle from our friends at Wikipedia:

CELLE is a regional capital town in Lower Saxony. The town is situated in the glacial valley on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lüneburg Heath, has a castle (Schloss Celle) built in the Renaissance and Baroque styles and a picturesque old town centre (the Altstadt) with over 400 timber-framed houses, making Celle one of the most remarkable members of the German Timber-Frame Road. From 1378 to 1705, Celle was the official residence of the Lüneburg branch of the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg (House of Welf) who had been banished from their original ducal seat by its townsfolk.

HISTORY - Celle was first mentioned in a document of A.D. 985 as Kiellu which means fishing bay. It was granted the right to mint and circulate its own coins (minting privileges) during the 11th century and several of its coins were found in the Sandur hoard in the Faroes. In 1292 Duke Otto II the Strict (1277–1330) founded a rectangular settlement by the existing castle. In 1301 he granted Celle its town privileges, and in 1308 started construction on the town church. In 1378 Celle became the residence of the dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg and, in 1433, the princes of Lüneburg took up residence in the castle. The ducal palace was situated on a triangle between the Aller and its tributary, the Fuhse. A moat connecting the rivers was built in 1433, turning the town centre into an island. In 1452 Duke Frederick the Pious of Lüneburg founded a Franciscan monastery. In 1464 the grain shipping monopoly generated an economic upturn for the town.

The buildings in Celle's old town center date back to the 16th century, among them numerous (and some 480 restored) half-timber houses, making Celle an important city for tourism in the southern Lüneburg Heath region. The most impressive building is the ducal palace, Schloss Celle, which was built in 1530 at the site of the former castle. Another major attraction is the Stadtkirche (town church, 1308) with its white tower, from where the town trumpeter blows a fanfare twice a day (an old tradition that was revived as a tourist attraction). Celle has a synagogue built in 1740, one of the few that survived the Nazi pogrom night of 1938, thanks to its location in a narrow street of wooden half-timber houses next to an important leather factory that would have been collaterally damaged. The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where Anne Frank died in 1945, is located in the district of Celle; today, a memorial and exhibition center mark the camp site. The Albrecht Thaer School, a school in Celle, was founded by Albrecht Daniel Thaer in 1796.
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This first set starts out as a "study in green" with the views of the park at the castle, external views of the castle and the adjacent Bomann Museum.


Notes
TRIP INFO: Set # 1 provides a brief introduction, maps and information for the entire series. Find it at:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-693834-1.html

EARLIER POSTS of this series: Access my topic list, the new posts are listed in reverse chronological order:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user-topic-list?usernum=45105

Thank you for visiting, I recommend viewing the downloads and look forward to your comments and questions.

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