Celle

Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated 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 style 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.

Geography

The town of Celle lies in the glacial valley of the Aller, about northeast of Hanover, northwest of Brunswick and south of Hamburg. With 71,000 inhabitants it is, next to Lüneburg, the largest Lower Saxon town between Hanover and Hamburg.

Expansion

The town covers an area of . Flowing from the northeast, the Lachte discharges into the Aller within the town's borders, as does the Fuhse flowing from the southeast. The Aller heads westwards towards Verden an der Aller where it joins the Weser.

Climate

Celle's annual precipitation is which puts it in the middle third of locations in Germany. 39% of the Deutscher Wetterdienst's weather stations record lower values. The wettest month is August which has 1.5 times the amount of precipitation as February, the driest month. Monthly precipitation varies only slightly and precipitation is very evenly spread throughout the year. Only 1% of German weather stations show a lower annual variation.

Subdivisions

The town of Celle has the following 17 boroughs or ''Stadtteile'', some of which were previously independent villages (population as at 1 January 2005): Altencelle (4,998), Altenhagen (922), Blumlage/Altstadt (8,526), Bostel (455), Boye (832), Garßen (2,978), Groß Hehlen (2,773), Hehlentor (7,974), Hustedt (736), Klein Hehlen (5,782), Lachtehausen (639), Neuenhäusen (8,082), Neustadt/Heese (10,887), Scheuen (1,165), Vorwerk (2,842), Westercelle (7,183) and Wietzenbruch (4,805).

History

Middle Ages

Celle was first mentioned in a document of A.D. 985 as ''Kiellu'' (which means ''Fischbucht'' or fishing bay). It was granted the right to mint and circulate its own coins under the ''Münzrecht'' (minting privileges) during the 11th century and several coins were found in the Sandur hoard in the Faroes. In 1292 Duke Otto II the Strict (1277–1330), a Welf who ruled the Principality of Lüneburg from 1277 to 1330 left Altencelle, where there had been a defences in the form of a circular rampart (the '' Ringwall von Burg'') since the 10th century, and founded a rectangular settlement by the existing castle (''Burg'') to the northwest. In 1301 he granted Celle its town privileges, and in 1308 started construction on the town church.

In 1378 Celle became the '' Residenz'' of the dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg and, in 1433, the princes of Lüneburg took up residence in the castle (''Schloss''). 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.

Early modern period

In 1524 the Reformation was introduced into Celle. In 1570 Duke William the Younger built the castle chapel which was consecrated in 1585.

In 1660 Celle had 3 750 inhabitants. From 1665 to 1705 Celle experienced a cultural boom as a ''Residenz'' under Duke George William. This has been particularly put down to his French wife, Eleonore d'Olbreuse, who brought fellow Huguenot Christians and Italian architects to Celle. During this time the French and Italian Gardens were laid out and the baroque castle theatre built. Because of the persecution of Huguenots under Louis XIV many French Huguenots sought refuge in Germany, especially in Berlin and in the towns of Celle, Neuwied and Hanau. About 300 Huguenots settled down in Celle, where a new residential area was laid out for them in the southwest of the city centre. Its main street, ''Hugenottenstrasse'' is still a sightworthy historical street with well-preserved wooden houses built at the beginning of the 18th century. Many French refugees worked in the castle as cooks and servants, but some of them opened shops in Celle as tailors, carpenters, joiners, confectioners, wig makers and glovers thus introducing some French cuisine, fashion and lifestyle into the town. Some years later protestant refugees from Austria sought refuge in Celle as well. ''Emigrantenstraße'' is another historical street which was laid out for the Austrians.

In 1705 the last duke of the Brunswick–Lüneburg line died and Celle, along with the Principality of Lüneburg, passed back to the Hanover line of the Welfs. By way of compensation for the loss of its status as a ''Residenz'' town numerous administrative institutions were established in Celle, such as the Higher Court of Appeal (''Oberappellationsgericht''), the prison and the State Stud Farm. That began its development into an administrative and judicial centre. Even today the Lower Saxony-Bremen State Social Security Tribunal and the High Court responsible for most of Lower Saxony are based in Celle, amongst others.

Celle is also still home to a prison (the Justizvollzugsanstalt Celle or ''JVA Celle'') which was built in a baroque style in the west of the city centre from 1710 to 1731. Sometimes tourists mistake it for a castle because of its typical baroque architecture. That the citizens of Celle once − in a vote − chose to have a prison in Celle rather than a university in order to protect the virtue of their daughters is not verifiable, but it has remained a persistent anecdote in popular folklore.

In August 1714, George Elector of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick–Lüneburg (King George I) ascended to the British throne. Between then and 1866, when the town became Prussian during the Austro-Prussian War as part of the province of Hanover, Celle was a possession of the British Hanoverian line.

In 1786 Albrecht Thaer founded the first German Agricultural Testing Institute in the meadows at the Dammasch (''dam marsh'') (today Thaer's Garden). The Albrecht-Thaer School is nowadays part of a vocational centre in the Celle sub-district of Altenhagen.

Modern period

In 1842 the Cambridge Dragoons Barracks (''Cambridge-Dragoner-Kaserne'') for the homonymous regiment named after the Hanoveran Viceroy Duke Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, was built in Celle. After being extended in 1913 and partially rebuilt after a fire in 1936, it was renamed ''Goodwood Barracks'' in 1945 and from 1976 to 1996 was the headquarters of Panzerbrigade 33 in the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr. In 1989 it was renamed again to Cambridge-Dragoner-Kaserne. Since 1996 the area has mainly been used to house one of the largest youth centres in Lower Saxony.

From 1869 to 1872 an infantry barracks was built for the 77th Infantry Regiment which also gave the main street (running the length of the front of the barracks) its name of 77er Strasse. In 1938 it was renamed the ''Heidekaserne'' ("Heath Barracks"). After the Second World War the barracks was used by British troops until 1993 during which time 94 Locating Regiment Royal Artillery held residency for over 25 years, followed briefly by 14 Signal Regiment, who relocated from Scheuen until the barracks were handed back to the local authorities. Today the New Town Hall (''Neue Rathaus'') and Celle Council Offices are housed in the restored brick building. Residential buildings and a town park have been established on the rest of the terrain.

In 1892 − with the help of numerous citizens' donations − the present-day ''Bomann Museum'' with its important folkloric and town history collections was founded. In 1913 the 74 metre high clock tower was built on the town church, its clockwork underwent a major restoration in 2008. In the 1920s the silk mill was built. It was merged in 1932 with the one in Peine to become the ''Seidenwerk Spinnhütte AG''. This concern expanded itself during the Nazi era into an armaments centre under the name of "Seidenwerk Spinnhütte AG". A subsidiary founded in 1936, the "Mitteldeutsche Spinnhütte AG", which led war preparations through its branches in the central German towns of Apolda, Plauen, Osterode, Pirna and Wanfried. Its only product was parachute silk that was needed for the paratroopers of the Wehrmacht.

In September 1929 Rudolph Karstadt opened a Karstadt department store in Celle town centre, the façade of which was identical with that of the Karstadt store on Berlin's Hermannplatz. The Celle branch was demolished in the 1960s and replaced by a controversial new building, whose aluminium braced facade was meant to represent Celle's timber-framed houses.

Nazi era

During Kristallnacht, the anti-Jewish pogrom in Nazi Germany on 9/10 November 1938, the synagogue in Celle was only saved from complete destruction because it is a very narrow lane and there would have been a risk to the adjacent leather factory and other parts of the historical city centre with its old wooden houses.

On 1 April 1939 Altenhäusen, Klein Hehlen, Neuenhäusen, Vorwerk and Wietzenbruch were incorporated into Celle. On 8 April 1945 the only serious allied bombing attack on the city during World War II occurred, 2.2% of the town was destroyed, especially on the industrial areas and railway freight terminal. A train in which about 4,000 prisoners were being transported to the nearby Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was hit. The attack claimed hundreds of casualties, but some of the prisoners managed to escape into the nearby woods. SS guards and Celle citizens participated in the so-called 'Celle hare hunt' (''Celler Hasenjagd''). The 'hunt' claimed several hundred dead and went on until 10 April 1945 and represented the darkest chapter in Celle's history. The exact number of victims has not been determined. Several of the perpetrators were later tried and convicted of this war crime. A memorial with an information board and a copper beech tree was inaugurated in Triftanlagen park on 8 April 1992. The German word for copper beech is "Blutbuche" meaning blood beech.

About 2.2% of Celle (67 houses) was destroyed in the Second World War. 550 houses were heavily damaged and 614 were slightly damaged. Celle was spared from further destruction by surrendering without a fight to advancing allied troops on 12 April 1945, so that the historical city centre and the castle survived the war completely unscathed.

Military

In Nazi Germany, Celle was an important garrison location. Elements of the 17th and 73rd Infantry Regiments and the 19th Artillery Regiment were garrisoned in the town. Celle was also the headquarters of a military district command and a military records office.

The different German Army barracks (including the Freiherr von Fritsch Barracks in Scheuen and the Cambridge Dragoons Barracks in the city) were used as sites for the German 33rd Armoured Brigade until the 1990s. The Celle Air Base (Immelmann Barracks) in the District of Wietzenbruch is now the site of the Training Centre of the Army Aviation School and the Cambridge Dragoons Barracks has now become a youth cultural centre (CD-Kaserne).

The British Army barracks, which as Celle Station formed part of Bergen-Hohne Garrison, were handed over to the German authorities on 5 November 2012. Since German reunification, Celle has largely lost its role as a major garrison town.

Post-war era

After the war Celle applied, along with Bonn and Frankfurt, to become the seat for the Parliamentary Council (''Parlamentarischer Rat''), the immediate post-war governmental body in Germany, later superseded by the West German Bundestag. In the end the privilege went to Bonn.

Trenchard Barracks in Celle was the most modern barracks in Germany during the war, with blackout blinds between the double-glazed windows and other features which became commonplace afterwards. The cellar doors were trial rooms for the number of inmates from Belsen who could be gassed. When Belsen concentration camp was liberated Trenchard Barracks was used as a hospital for surviving inmates who needed treatment. Later it became the Barracks for the 1st Battalion of the Rifle Brigade.

On 1 January 1973 Celle lost its status as an independent town (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') and became the largest municipality in the new district (''Kreis'') of Celle. It also became the largest town in the new region ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Lüneburg. At the same time the localities of Ummern, Pollhöfen and Hahnenhorn were incorporated into Gifhorn district. Since then the parish of Hohne has looked after six villages ( Hohne, Helmerkamp, Spechtshorn, Ummern, Pollhöfen and Hahnenhorn) in two rural districts. The town of Celle has also incorporated a number of villages from the surrounding area.

On 25 July 1978 a staged bomb attack was made on the outer wall of the prison. This was initially blamed on the Red Army Faction, but was later revealed to have been perpetrated by Lower Saxony's intelligence service, the Verfassungsschutz. The incident became known as the Celle Hole.

In 2004 the region of Lüneburg was dissolved along with the rest of Lower Saxony's administrative districts. Celle is currently the twelfth largest town in Lower Saxony.

Incorporation of municipalities

* 1 April 1939: Altenhäusen, Klein Hehlen, Neuenhäusen, Vorwerk und Wietzenbruch
* 1 January 1973: Altencelle, Altenhagen, Alvern, Bostel, Boye, Burg, Garßen, Groß Hehlen, Hustedt, Lachtehausen, Scheuen and Westercelle.

Growth in population

In the Middle Ages and early modern period Celle only had a few thousand inhabitants. The population grew only slowly and dropped frequently as a result of many wars, epidemics and periods of famine. Not until the beginnings of industrialisation in the 19th century did population growth accelerate. It reached a total of 8,800 in 1818 but by 1900 this had more than doubled to 20,000. The incorporation of the surrounding villages on 1 April 1939 saw a further (artificial) rise in numbers to 38,000.

Shortly after the Second World War the many refugees and displaced persons from the German areas of Eastern Europe led to a steep rise in the number of inhabitants within just a few months from around 17,000 to 55,000 by December 1945. The addition of new municipalities on 1 January 1973 saw an additional 18,691 people being included within the borough of Celle and bringing the total population to 75,178 − its historical high point.
On 30 June 2005 the official number of inhabitants within Celle borough, according to an update by the Lower Saxony State Department of Statistics, was 71,402 (only main residences, and after adjustments with the other state departments).

The following overview shows the population numbers based on the 'catchment area' at the time. The 1818 figure is an estimate, the rest are based on census results(¹) or official updates by the Department of Statistics. From 1871 the returns show the population actually present, from 1925 the resident population and since 1987 the population residing at their main residence. Before 1871 the numbers are based on various, different census-gathering processes.

¹ Census results

Government

For the purposes of Bundestag elections the town of Celle belongs to the constituency of Celle-Uelzen. In 1983, 1987, 1990 and 1994 Klaus-Jürgen Hedrich ( CDU) won the direct vote. In 1998, 2002 and 2005 Peter Struck ( SPD) won the majority of votes. In 2009 Henning Otte (CDU) received the direct mandate.

For Lower Saxony State Parliament ('' Landtag'') elections Celle forms the constituency of Celle-Stadt with its surrounding area. In 2003 the CDU won the majority of votes.

Town council

The town council has 42 elected members as well as the directly elected mayor (''Oberbürgermeister''). Since the local elections of 11 September 2016, it has consisted of ten parties or voting groups:

* CDU − 16 seats
* SPD − 9 seats
* AfD - 4 seats
* Bündnis 90/Die Grünen − 3 seats
* Zukunft Celle − 3 seats
* FDP − 2 seats
* Die Linke/Alliance for Social Justice (''Bündnis Soziale Gerechtigkeit'') – Celle (BSG-CE) − 2 seats
* Die Unabhängigen - 2 seats
* Die Partei - 1 seat
* WG (Wählergemeinschaft) − 1 seat

Mayors (''Oberbürgermeister'')

* 1877–1895: Otto Hattendorf (1822–1905)
* 1895–1924: Wilhelm Denicke
* 1924–1945: Ernst Meyer (1887–1948)
* 1945: Max Vogel
* 1945–1946: Walther Hörstmann (1898–1977)
* 1946–1948: Richard Schäfer
* 1948–1952: Franz-Georg Guizetti
* 1952–1964: Wilhelm Heinichen (1883–1967)
* 1964–1973: Kurt Blanke (1900–1997)
* 1973–1985: Helmuth Hörstmann (1909–1993)
* 1986–2001: Herbert Severin
* 2001–2008: Martin Biermann (CDU)
* 2009–2017: Dirk-Ulrich Mende (SPD)
* since 2017: Jörg Nigge (CDU)

Coat of arms

Blazoning: ''Azure, a castle, triple-towered, embattled above the port, all argent, masoned sable, the port sable, the towers roofed gules. The port charged with a lion rampant azure surrounded by seven hearts gules on an inescutcheon bendwise or.''

The helmet on the full coat of arms is described as follows: ''On the shield is a blue and white wreathed helmet with a mantling, blue on the outside and white on the inside. The crest consists of two sickles leaning outwards with red handles. The sickles have their points upwards, blades inward-facing and are decorated with peacock's eyes on the outside edges.''

Flag

The town flag is divided into two equal stripes in the town colours of blue and white. It can also contain the town coat of arms.

Official seal

The town of Celle has an official seal whose design is based on the oldest town seal of 1288 with the circumscription ''Stadt Celle''. It depicts a gatehouse between two castle towers. In the open gateway under a decorative helmet there is a shield tilting to the left charged with the lion of the Dukes of Lüneburg.

Twin towns – sister cities

Celle is twinned with:

* Celle Ligure, Italy
* Hämeenlinna, Finland
* Holbæk