Guide to Bach Tour

Contents

Description & History | Events in Life History of J.S. Bach | Performance Dates of J.S. Bach’s Vocal Works | Features of Interest | Information & Links | Photos | Maps

Description & History

Celle is an historic town (74,000 inhabitants) in Lower Saxony, about 85 km south-west of Lüneburg. It is the capital of the district of Celle. The town is located in the southernmost part of the Lüneburg Heath (Lüneburger Heide) and on the banks of the Aller River.

Celle (also known as 'Zelle') was founded in 1292 on the territory of the duchy of Saxony-Wittenberg. Celle was the seat of the reigning dukes of Braunschweig-Lüneburg from 1378 to 1705. They were a branch of the dukes of Guelph, who had been banished from their original ducal seat by the firm burghers of the salt town to the north. The duke's palace was situated in a triangle between the Aller River and its tributary, the Fuhse River. A moat connecting the rivers was built in 1433, turning the town centre into an island. In the meantime Celle had become a residence of a collateral line within the duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In 1705 the last duke died, and the town became subject to Hanover. Celle retains today the air of an aristocratic retreat, and is being also known as a tourist gate to the Lüneburg Heath.

The long reigning of the dukes covers, of course, the time when J.S. Bach was attending the Michaelisschule in Lüneburg in 1700-1702. The Obituary refers to J.S. Bach's encountering well-managed French music played by the 'then-famous band kept by the Duke of Zelle'. It states that most of the players were actually French- a result of its having been formed by the French duchess of the ducal line, Eléonore Desmier d'Olbreuse. The duchess retired to her dower house in Lüneburg in 1705, but she had already chosen it by 1700, and it may have been there, or elsewhere in Lüneburg, that J.S. Bach heard the orchestra. The assumption made by J. N. Forkel and others that the young Bach actually travelled to Celle is today regarded with scepticism.

Events in Life History of J.S. Bach: See above.

Performance Dates of J.S. Bach’s Vocal Works: None.

Features of Interest

Information & Links

The Three Ladies of Celle - Eléonore d'Olbreuse: a beautiful Huguenot from the old French province of Poitou.
Old Town: with hundreds of half-timbered buildings that line the tourist-thronged cobblestone streets; including Hoppenehaus, Old College, Rathaus.
Schloß (Castle): the Ducal Palace, built in 1530 at the site of the former castle; including the Castle Chapel, Schloßtheater.
Bomann-Museum: a museum of regional history and modern art.
Stadtkirche St. Marien: built in 1308, with a white tower, from where the city trumpeter blows a fanfare twice a day.
Synagogue: built in 1740, one of very few synagogues surviving the Nazi pogrom night of 1938.

Stadt Celle (Official Website) [German/English]
Stadtkirche Celle [German]
Schlosstheater Celle [German]
Celle (Meinestadt) [German]
Celle (Wikipedia) [various languages]
Cityreview: Niedersachsen > Celle [German]

Prepared by Aryeh Oron (March 2004)

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Last update: ýAugust 6, 2004 ý15:02:35