Celle Castle

From 1670 onwards alterations to the castle were carried out by Duke George William, which were intended to transform the old renaissance seat into a contemporary Residenz.

Notable features include the corona of gables that encircles the roofs, and the unusual shape of the domed towers.

From 1772 it was occupied by the British-born Danish queen, Caroline Matilda, the daughter of Frederick Lewis, Prince of Wales, who had been banished to Celle as a result 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.

During World War I, it was used as a detention camp for officers (Offizerslager or Oflag) by the German Army.

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 present Schlosstheater was built on the instigation of Duke George William, who before he came to power spent some time in Venice and came to know Italian opera whilst he was there.

The duke hosted a succession of theatre companies, that he recruited, for example, from France, Italy and also nearby Hanover.

The theatre was conceived for the benefit of the court and was never intended to be open to the public, who were first allowed a moderate degree of access to plays at the end of the 18th century.