Neues Rathaus, Town hall in Celle, Germany
The Neues Rathaus is Celle's town hall, featuring a long neo-Gothic brick structure with five floors and roughly 300 rooms spread throughout. The building has significant proportions and functions as the main administrative center for city operations and public services.
The building was originally constructed in 1869 as a military barracks for a Hanoverian infantry regiment and served military purposes for decades until World War II ended. After the war, it transitioned to serve as Celle's civilian city administration, where it has remained ever since.
The building shows how Celle transformed from a military town to a modern administrative center, which you can see in how the city uses it today. Citizens interact with it as the hub of municipal services, where everyday city business takes place.
The town hall is open during regular business hours from Monday through Friday, where most city administrative departments are located and functioning. There is a public cafeteria on the upper floors where both visitors and staff can take a break.
The basement levels were deliberately flooded by retreating military forces in 1945, an act that later sparked a mysterious diving operation involving military divers. This forgotten episode from the final days of the war remains an unusual chapter in the building's past.
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