Castles and Gardens in Celle

Residenzschloss / Residential Palace Celle c) Martin Kirchner Ducal Palace

It is the oldest building in Celle and it is regarded as one of the most splendid Guelphic palaces in Northern Germany.
First mentioned in 1318, from its origins as a simple castle it was transformed in the following centuries into a magnificent residence for the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The four-wing construction reveals both from the exterior and the interior stylistic elements from the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods.
The palace which is integrated in the historical “Old Town”, reflects in its construction phases the development from a castle to a ducal palace.
From all periods of use building structures remain: the medieval castle, the knights’ hall, the baroque state chambers, the baroque theatre.

Medicinal Herb Garden Celle

Celle’s Medicinal Herb Garden offers a wealth of diverse medicinal plants.

The extended grounds – the garden is one of the largest of its kind in Europe – invites the visitor for a stroll amongst the fragrant medicinal plants and to rest by a bubbling spring. Information boards and individual references inform the visitor about the plants and how amongst others the famous clergyman Kneipp or the female mystic Hildegard von Bingen made use of them.
The attached “KräuThaer café” is operated by pupils from the Albrecht Thaer School. Home-baked products following old recipes delight the palate.

Further Information about the Medicinal Herb Garden.

City Park

At the end of the 90’s a new City Garden was constructed on the grounds of the former barrack of heathland at the edge of the old town district and south of the historic French Garden. The great area is in the middle of the residential area and of the new town hall.
The attractive composition through great surfaces of water, more than 70 trees, reams of bushes, hedges and flowers invite the guest to stay for all seasons.
Beside play equipment such as slackline and turntables there are fitness-parcours for sports-enthusiastic adults. At the edge of the 2.200m² great surface of water there are numerous seating areas with benchs and a field where you can play chess.

Further information about the City Park.

Palace Park

Popular meeting place for Celler and guests of the city

The origins of the Palace Park begin in the late 18th century, up to then the castle’s fortification had remained intact.

Demolition began in 1784 at the western bastions and continued until 1827. The rubble was mostly filled in the palace moat which once was very wide reducing it to an average width of 6.7 metres. The newly gained ground between the Palace and the moat was then planted with trees and later used as a circular promenade with an avenue of poplars.

When it was decided in 1839 to convert the Palace into the summer residence of the Hanoverian royal house, the lease of the grounds beyond the Palace moat were purchased.

Under the supervision of Christian Schaumburg, the Garden Inspector in Hanover, extension works were completed between 1847 and 1866. The area in front of the Superior Court of Appeal, today the Regional Court of Appeal, were also integrated into the grounds.

In 1868 the Palace grounds came under the supervision of the Royal Prussian Court Garden Administration. In principle the basic layout of the grounds at that time remains to this day. The western section became building plots in 1899, and in 1922 a memorial for German soldiers killed in World War I was erected on the central lawn in front of the eastern section of the Palace, but relocated in 1999 to the Town Park. In 1936 another section in the north of the grounds was given up when widening of the Mühlenstraße became inevitable.

Today the Palace Park is a popular meeting point not only for the people of Celle but also for the many tourists who from this point start their guided town tour or who simply want to relax after a shopping trip.

Further information about the Palace Park.

French Garden

The French Garden was probably named after the two French gardeners, Henri Péronnet (from 1670) and René Dahuron (1680 to 1701), who were in the service of Celle’s Duke George William. It was due to Dahuron that the first comprehensive kitchen garden and pleasure garden in the court tradition of the early 17th century were established.

Between 1695 and 1696 a double row of lime trees was planted giving the park a dominant central east-west axis. This lime tree avenue was completely renewed between 1951 and 1953.

In 1705 Celle ceased to be a ducal seat and consequently the park was neglected. Only in 1772, when the Danish queen Mathilde was exiled to Celle, the park sprung back to life under the auspice of court gardener Krantz. The initial square pond was converted into the present-day round pond. The French Garden also includes the Caroline Mathilde memorial which was created by the eminent painter and sculptor Adam Friedrich Oeser and erected in 1784 on the initiative of the Knighthood and the Estates.

Soon afterwards maintenance problems reoccurred in the park. The thatched-roofed summer house erected for the exiled queen in the eastern section was demolished in 1801. It was only under the dedicated Hanoverian chief court marshall Malortie that the French Garden, based on plans by garden inspector Schaumburg, was gradually converted into an English-style landscaped garden in the mid- 19th century.

After World War I a children’s playground was established in the eastern section which still exists to this day. In the western section however a small rose garden was created (renewed in 1996), and in 1927 the Regional Institute for Bee Research (nowadays the LAVES Institute for Apiculture) was built in the northern section which had been separated from the garden.

Further Information for the French garden.