The royal seat of Celle introduces itself

GUELPHS, HALF-TIMBERED HOUSES AND FLAIR

Celle is one of the most important royal seats in Lower Saxony. For almost 300 years, it served as the residence of the dukes of Braunschweig-Lüneburg and the seat of government of the most significant Guelph principality. With the biggest unified collection of half-timbered houses in Europe as well as various classical and modern museums, Celle is without doubt the highlight of any trip to Lüneburg Heath. Celle also surprises visitors with its Bauhaus architecture and light art as well as its variety of shops, restaurants and accommodation, making the compact town perfect for both young and old.

RESIDENCE MUSEUM AT CELLE PALACE

Located in the idyllic half-timbered city, the palace still exhibits traces of its time as a royal palace in the Middle Ages, as a Baroque RESIDENCE until 1705 and as a summer abode of the Kings of Hannover in the 19th century. See the history of the palace and its residents brought back to life. The Baroque rooms of the last Duke of Celle, George William, represent an architectural highlight with their splendid stuccos. The Königssaal (King’s Hall) contains impressive paintings and selected royal treasures.

TOUCHING WOMEN’S FATES

The last Duchess, the Huguenot Eléonore d’Olbreuse, is the ancestor of various European royal houses. She brought French esprit to North Germany in the 17th century and, in doing so, enriched courtly and urban life in Celle. Her daughter, Sophia Dorothea, had a tragic fate: after her separation from Prince Georg Louis, later to be named King George I of Britain, she was forced to spend the rest of her life in exile. Sophia Dorothea’s great-granddaughter, the Danish Queen Caroline Mathilda, suffered a similar fate. Following the Struensee affair, the divorced sister of King George III spent the last three years of her life in Celle Palace, where she died in 1775.