Celle, Germany: a ducal residence and Europe's largest ensemble of half-timbered houses

A bright white Renaissance palace at one end, and from it street after street of timber-framed houses in ochre, blue and red: Celle wears its history openly. Around 400 to 500 of these carved and gabled houses fill the old town, said to be the largest connected ensemble of its kind in Europe. A town of about 67,000 people on the River Aller in Lower Saxony, Celle marks the southern gateway to the Lüneburg Heath, roughly 40 kilometres north-east of Hanover and about 120 kilometres south of Hamburg.

The Hoppener Haus of 1532, six storeys high and covered in brightly painted carvings, is the most exuberant of the timber facades, while the Renaissance old town hall and the white-towered town church of St. Marien, begun in 1308, anchor the centre. From the church tower a town trumpeter still sounds a fanfare twice a day.

Three centuries of dukes

Founded around 1292, Celle became the residence of the Lüneburg branch of the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, the House of Welf, from 1378 until 1705. Their seat, Schloss Celle, was rebuilt from 1530 as a Renaissance palace and later given a Baroque outer face; inside, the chapel keeps its original frescoes and the palace theatre, dating from 1674, ranks among the oldest still in use in Europe. When the ducal line moved to Hanover, Celle kept its dignified streets and gardens largely intact.

Heath, horses and quiet streets

Spared serious damage in the Second World War, the town has become a model of conservation. Beyond the timber houses lie the French Garden and the castle park, and the surrounding region is famous for breeding Hanoverian horses, celebrated at the state stud's stallion parades. Compact and walkable, Celle makes an easy introduction to the heath country north of Hanover.