Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser. 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.
The town of Celle lies in the glacial valley of the Aller river, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of Hanover, 60 kilometres (37 mi) northwest of Brunswick and 120 kilometres (75 mi) south of Hamburg. With 70,000 inhabitants it is, next to Lüneburg, the largest Lower Saxon town between Hanover and Hamburg.
The buildings in Celle’s old town centre 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. 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). The Schlosstheater Celle was founded in 1674 and is the oldest, still working theatre in Germany and the oldest baroque theatre in Europe. It had a main auditorium and a smaller stage, called the Malersaal.
The picturesque French Garden lies immediately south of the Altstadt and is where the Lower Saxon Institute of Apiculture may be found. The Castle Park, with its moats, is on the site of the former defensive fortifications of the ducal castle. And along Bahnhofstraße there is an area of common pasture used as a public park and play area. On the right bank of the Aller are the Dammasch Meadows, a popular destination for trips, and immediately next to them is the garden of medicinal plants and the Thaers Garden with its little castle. By the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) is the recently laid-out town park. Other important open areas include the various town cemeteries, such as the picturesque forest cemetery, the Waldfriedhof, with its nature garden.
