Altencelle is part of the borough of
Celle
Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...
in
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...
and lies southeast of the town centre, west of the
River Aller
The River Aller is a small river on Exmoor in Somerset, England.
It rises as several small streams around Tivington and Huntscott and flows through the Holnicote Estate passing Holnicote and through Allerford, where it passes under a packho ...
and east of the
Fuhse. It is linked to Celle by the
B 214 federal road and state highway K 74.
History
The present day name of Altencelle clearly shows that the original town of Celle (granted
town rights
Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
since 1249), "old Celle" or ''alte Celle'', was located here. The village was first mentioned in the records in 986 as Kellu ("settlement by the river"). At that time there was a castle (''Burg'') there belonging to the
Brunonen family. Today, like the ''
Ringwall von Burg'' in the suburb of Burg, only archaeological evidence remains. Duke Otto the Strict left Altencelle in 1292 and founded the "new" Celle about northwest near another existing castle.
Politics
The chairman of the village council (''Ortsbürgermeister'') is Otto Stumpf (CDU).
Culture and places of interest
* The origins of
Saint Gertrude's Church (the ''Gertrudenkirche'') go back to about 1000 and it is one of the oldest church buildings in the region of Celle. The present building dates mainly to the 14th century.
* The ''
Ringwall von Burg'' ("ring embankment of the castle") at Burg is one of the most important early
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
cultural monuments in the Celle area. The ''Wallburg'' or fortified camp in the valley not far from the
Fuhse may have acted as a refuge for the population.
References
External links
The official website of Celle town
{{Authority control
Villages in Lower Saxony
Celle