Celle: half-timbered, brick Gothic and Bauhaus - tradition meets modern age (bike tour 67km)

Discover the varied landscape and the different architectural styles between Celle and Burgdorf by bike on a well signposted cycle route and paved cycle paths.

On the bicycle tour you will encounter countless half-timbered houses: their characteristic feature is the wooden beams. These not only support the buildings, they are often beautifully finished and allow us to draw conclusions about their construction period.

In the old town of Celle in the southern heath, more than 456 listed half-timbered houses with their variety of colours and shapes, their ornamentation and their sayings take us back to times long past. Only the oldest houses with a passage leading to the courtyard still point to the farming bourgeoisie. From 1600 onwards, buildings were added to the front and at the top: Bay windows and staircase-like projecting floors are typical.

A characteristic feature of the villages in the region is the Lower German Hallenhaus.

An example you can find in Bockelskamp. The large farmhouse offered space for living, stable and storage. 

On the cycle tour you will see another type of construction that is characteristic of northern Germany, the brick Gothic style. The Gothic style with pointed arches and ribbed vaults flourished from around 1150 to 1450. Due to the low occurrence of quarry stones, brick became the preferred building stone in the region. A return to this building style began around 1830 with the neo-Gothic style.

The cycle route takes you to the Wienhausen monastery, a jewel of North German brick Gothic from the 13th century. The New Town Hall Celle, on the other hand, originally built as barracks, embodies a splendid example of neo-Gothic from the

19th century.

Celle can also show pioneering buildings on Bauhaus architecture, which you will see while cycling. This is thanks to the architect Otto Haesler, who worked here from 1906 to 1933. He was one of the first German architects to replace the traditional brick construction method with a steel skeleton. Thanks to his clear design language, the use of basic colours and the inclusion of tubular steel furniture produced in Celle, he is one of the pioneers of New Building alongside Walter Gropius and Hannes Meyer. His housing estates for families with low incomes, but also the "Glass School" and the "Directors' Residence" served as models for modern architecture.

Discover the pioneering buildings of the Celle architect on a side trip with your bike to the Otto Haesler Tour. 

The stops: Director's villa, Italian Garden, St. Georg Garden, Otto Haesler Museum, Blumlager field, headmaster's residence, old town school.

Further information and the flyer for the tour www.neuesbauen-celle.de can be found at finden and in the magazine "100 Years of Bauhaus", available at the Tourist Information Celle.

Embark on an exciting architectural journey by bike - a journey through time from the Middle Ages to the modern age. Let yourself be enchanted by the charm of traditional half-timbered houses in Celle and Burgdorf during the bike tour. In Wienhausen a jewel of North German brick Gothic awaits you: the Wienhausen Monastery. On the cycle route you can also get to know the modern buildings of Otto Haesler in Celle. The 67 km long cycle tour leads through the southern Lüneburg Heath with places rich in tradition. Ride on cycle paths along the Aller river and across meadows and fields. 

Plan your cycle tour individually: by taking the shortcuts via Nienhagen and Wathlingen - with a view of historic half-timbered farms and the Kaliberg - or by making an additional detour to the Spreewald lakes near Uetze.