Celle Castle is based on a fortified wall tower (Wehrturm) with the character of a water castle, that guarded a ford over the River Aller. This first fortification, called Kellu, was built by a Brunonen count around 980
From 1670 onwards alterations at the castle were undertaken by Duke George William, which were intended to transform the old renaissance seat into a contemporary Residenz. George William was keen on building, typical of the princes of his time, and made further changes that were intended to recall his time in Italy. The façades, that were copied from Venetian buildings, were then given their present- day appearance. Notable features include the corona of gables that encircles the roofs, and the unusual shape of the domed towers. The addition of the castle theatre and the baroque state rooms stem from this period.
On the death of George William in 1705 the absolute rule of the dukes ended. The Principality of Lüneburg was subsequently passed, along with the Principality of Calenberg, to the Kingdom of Hanover. Celle castle lost its political significance and stood empty again for a long time. From 1772 it was occupied by the British- born, Danish queen, Caroline Matilda, the daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales, who was banished to Celle because of of her affair with Johann Friedrich Struensee of Copenhagen. The unhappy queen only lived at the Celle court until 1775 when she died at a relatively young age of scarlet fever. In the 19th century the castle was occasionally used by the Hanoverian royal household as a summer residence. As a result Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves had several interior alterations made in 1839 and 1840. Celle castle still has a variety of rooms and halls that date back to the different period. The court chapel was converted after the Reformation and is preserved almost unchanged with its renaissance architecture. The barock- style state rooms were created under George William and are also preserved. In the Gothic Hall there are constantly changing exhibitions and in the East Wing is a section of Celle's Bomann Museum, which is dedicated to the history of the Kingdom of Hanover. The historic castle rooms and also the castle chapel, restored between 1978 and 1981, may be visited as part of a guided tour.
|
Celle Castle is founded on a fortified wall tower(Wehrturm) with the character of a water castle, that guarded a ford over the River Aller. This first fortification, called Kellu, was built by a Brunonen count around 980. Another forerunner of the castle, which could have been an extension of the wall tower, was founded in 1292 by Otto the Strict. The cellar vault as well as the lower stories of the watch tower have survived to the present day. Its ruins lie underneath the castle theatre. Around 1315 the actual Castrum Celle was first recorded. As a consequence of the Lüneburg War of Succession, in 1378 the Dukes of Brunswick- Lüneburg transferred their Residenz from Lüneburg to Celle and began transforming the Burg, now encircled by ditches and embankments, into a Schloss. About a century later the castle was further expanded by Frederick the Pious from 1471 1478, and the castle chapel was consecrated in 1485. Ernest I the Confessor had the castle decorated from 1530 in the renaissance style. Simultaneously, between 1520 and 1560, the defences, in the form of ramparts and bastions, were pushed further out. At this time the castle was typical of its era, a four- winged building having a rectangular courtyard, with massive corner towers, a sizable main tower and characteristic features of Weser Renaissance.
