Stadt & Großvogtei Celle

Burgvogtei Celle

Celle has existed since at least the 10th century, but did not move to its current location until 1292. It was granted a town charter in 1301 and became the residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg in 1378. Once Celle became part of Welfian Germany, the Dukes were replaced by the Princes of Lüneburg.

 

Großvogtei Celle was established in the 14th century, shortly after the ducal residence moved to Celle. It supervised numerous smaller subdivisions mostly known as Amtsvogteien, but did not include the Stadt. Over time, the Amtsvogteien amassed responsibilities comparable to that of regular Ämter, and by 1772 the Großvogtei was deemed to be superfluous and was dissolved. I use the Großvogtei here as a tool for organizing the Amtsvogteien, but I ignore it in my place names.

 

Prior to 1772, the Großvogtei consisted of the following subdivisions (some of which were further subdivided, as shown in the linked pages). The Burgvogtei, the villages of which are listed below, was adjacent to the Stadt itself.

 

• Burgvogtei Celle
• Eastern subdivisions
  • Amtsvogtei Bedenbostel
  • Amtsvogtei Eicklingen
• Northern subdivisions
  • Amtsvogtei Bergen
  • Amtsvogtei Hermannsburg
• Northwestern subdivisions
  • Amtsvogtei Fallingbostel
  • Stadt and Amtsvogtei Soltau
• Western subdivisions
  • Amtsvogtei Essel
  • Amtsvogtei Winsen an der Aller
• Southwestern subdivisions
  • Amtsvogtei Bissendorf
  • Amtsvogtei Burgwedel
  • Amtsvogtei Ilten.