City fortifications of Celle
The city fortifications of Celle were a system of defensive structures that had protected the city of Celle from attacks since the Middle Ages . This included the city wall with city gates as well as ramparts and moats. Celle Castle , which was also fortified, was directly adjacent to the city . The city fortifications were expanded in the 16th and 17th centuries and demolished after the Seven Years' War from 1766 . Visible remains of the fortifications are watercourses and a fragment of the city wall.
Medieval city fortifications
Celle was founded in 1292 by Duke Otto II on the already existing castle . The first documented mention of a city fortification in Celle took place in 1308. The mention corresponds to an approximately 2.5 meter high, medieval wall, the remains of which were discovered in 1988 during archaeological excavations. Its emergence could be dated to the transition from the 13th to the 14th century based on ceramic finds. As in comparable places, the fortification at this early time can be assumed as a rampart and moat, possibly with a row of palisades .
When Celle was made a residence by Duke Albrecht in 1378 , a city wall was probably built . While the course is only roughly known, the moat in front of the wall has been archaeologically proven in several places. With the Westerceller Tor, the Hehlentor and the Steintor, Celle had three city gates. According to official records, they are mentioned in the second half of the 14th century. The city fortifications were strengthened during the War of the Lüneburg Succession , which lasted from 1370 to 1388. This included the expansion of the Magnus moat in 1370, which branches off from the Aller and runs around the city as a wide moat on three sides.
Merian - Engraving by Celle around 1654
A fragment of the city wall from 1530 with an attached house from 1600
The Magnus moat built in 1370 to fortify the city
Today's moat in front of a former wall (south wall) of the city fortifications
Modern expansion and razing
The city fortifications were renewed and strengthened in the first third of the 16th century by a ducal decree . This included widening the city moat surrounding the city to 50 meters. A surrounding wall up to 9 meters high was also built. The city wall was provided with parapets and loopholes . She received eight outside scheduled Rondelle . A roundabout with casemates in the northeast of the old town was discovered during excavations in 1988. It had a diameter of 20 meters and a wall thickness of five meters. Based on a dendrochronological examination of the foundation piles, the construction date could be dated to around 1530. During this time, a 3 meter high city wall was also built, which supported the earth wall surrounding the city. At one point a short section of the wall has been preserved, which was integrated into a house built around 1600. Around 1544, the Braunschweig armory master Cord Mente helped strengthen the ramparts.
At the beginning of the 17th century, Duke Christian ordered further strengthening of the city fortifications from around 1625 , including the construction of entrenchments in front of the three city gates. Another ski jump was built around 1637 to protect the water mills and the water art on the Aller.
In 1705 with the death of Georg Wilhelm as the last Duke of Celle, the city lost its status as a royal seat and its importance fell. The fortifications were not renewed and in 1710 it came to the demolition of walls and trenches at the castle. French occupation troops repaired it again during the Seven Years' War . The fortification was then abandoned and, from 1766, razed. In the process, walls and defenses were removed and the wide city moat was filled. The town gates were demolished in 1790. The town of Celle acquired the site of the ramparts, which had been leveled by 1832, in 1874.
literature
- Stefan Amt , Walter Bettauer: Fortifications in the Lower Saxony area. Celle in: Nienburg Fortress. The structural development of the fortifications , Nienburg / Weser 1996, ISBN 978-3-9802844-5-5 ( Online , PDF, 744 kB)
