Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [549]
Hotel zum Schwan ( 104 445; schwan1760@aol.com; Conradistrasse 3-4; s/d €48/86; ) Earl Karl’s former hunting lodge, now one of the better hotels in towns, is a bit creaky around the staircase, but rooms have been given a make-over in recent years without losing a genuinely lived-in feel. It overlooks the Hafenbecken and has a lovely rococo dining room.
Return to beginning of chapter
LÜNEBURGER HEIDE
* * *
North of Hanover along the sprawling Lüneburger Heide lies a land of attractive, historic villages and natural allure. Lower Saxony was ruled from here before the court moved to Hamburg, so royal treasures and exquisitely preserved buildings await you in Celle. In Lüneburg, you can observe the quirky side-effects of the salt-mining that made the town rich in the Middle Ages (the town visibly leans).
The area in between, along the Lüneburger Heide, can be covered on foot, by bike or in a boat.
Return to beginning of chapter
CELLE
05141 / pop 70,850
With 400 half-timbered houses and its Ducal Palace dating back to the 13th century, Celle is graced with a picture-book town centre that is among the most attractive in the region. Many of the ornate houses were built in the 16th century by hard-working, pious folk who decorated them with stern mottos like ‘Don’t let widows and orphans suffer or you’ll face the wrath of God’, and ‘This house was built from necessity not desire’. The white-and-pink Ducal Palace, Celle’s centrepiece set in small gardens, contrasts with the ultra-modern Kunstmuseum opposite, which is illuminated at night into a ‘24-hour’ museum and successfully creates an interesting contrast of old and new in this small but fascinating town.
Return to beginning of chapter
Orientation
The mainly pedestrianised Altstadt is about a 15-minute walk east of the Hauptbahnhof, reached by the rather unattractive Bahnhof-strasse. Turning left at the street’s end will take you to the palace after 100m. From here, Stechbahn leads east to the nearby tourist office. The Aller River flows around the northern section of the Altstadt, with a tributary encircling it to the south. Just south of the Altstadt is the Französischer Garten (French Garden).
Return to beginning of chapter
Information
Adunni Callshop & Internet (Bahnhofstrasse 38; internet per hr €2; 10am-10pm Mon-Sat, noon-9pm Sun)
Main post office (Rundstrasse 7; 8.30am-6pm Mon-Fri, to 1pm Sat) Diagonally opposite the Schloss.
Tourismus Region Celle ( 1212; www.region-celle.com; Markt 14-16; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat, 11am-2pm Sun May-Sep, 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat Oct-Apr) Runs guided tours (€5; in German) at 11am Saturday to Thursday, 4.30pm Friday May to October, 11am Saturday and Sunday November and April, and 11am daily in December.
Return to beginning of chapter
Sights
ALTSTADT
With row upon row of ornate half-timbered houses, all decorated with scrolls and allegorical figures, Celle is a perfect place for a stroll. Even the tourist office is located in a striking building, the Altes Rathaus (1561–79), which boasts a wonderful Weser Renaissance stepped gable, topped with the ducal coat of arms and a golden weather vane.
At the tourist office door, on the building’s south side, there are two whipping posts with shackles, used from 1786 to 1850 to punish minor offenders. Prisoners weren’t in fact whipped but merely left here for 12 hours, to allow their neighbours to spit at them or throw insults and eggs. Opposite, the statue of a man in shackles recreates the scene.
Jousting tournaments were held a little further west on Stechbahn. The little horseshoe alongside the iron horseshoe sculpture on the corner of the street’s north side (outside the Apotheke) marks the spot where a duke was slain during a tournament; step on it and make a wish, and