Bergen (Germany)

Bergen is a town in the north of Celle district on the Lüneburg Heath in Lower Saxony, Germany. The infamous Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was located not far from Belsen, one of several farming villages in the borough.

Bergen is a former agricultural town, but today is economically heavily dependent on the surrounding military bases and the Bergen-Hohne Training Area to the west, which is the largest military training area in Western Europe.

Understand
Bergen was first mentioned in 1197 and was a centre of local government, the seat of the sheriff (Amtsvogtei) and, later, the Royal Hanoverian Office. After the Kingdom of Hanover was annexed by Prussia in 1866, Bergen was absorbed into Fallingbostel district. In the reorganisation of 1885, however, Bergen was transferred into the newly formed Celle district.

Bergen's development as a market town was rather slow during the Middle Ages and the early part of the Modern Age, hampered by serious fires in 1354, 1585 and 1796, but the agricultural reform in the 19th century and the town's connection to the Celle–Soltau railway led to far-reaching changes. The biggest change, however, was the creation of Bergen-Hohne Training Area in 1935 by the Nazis, which led to Bergen's transformation from an agriculturally-based village into the small town it is today, characterised by trade and commerce with agriculture having largely lost its significance. Until 2015, it was home to a British base, the Bergen-Hohne Garrison, which hosted up to 5,000 soldiers.

Today Bergen is a local borough town in the northern part of Celle district and is, after Celle, the only political entity in the district, having been granted town status in 1957. During the community reorganisation of 1971, Bergen was given responsibility for the parishes of Becklingen, Belsen, Bleckmar, Diesten, Dohnsen, Eversen, Hagen, Hassel, Nindorf, Offen, Sülze and Wardböhmen. That significantly increased the size of its population and area. Today around 13,000 people live in the town of Bergen (2019).

By car
Bergen is located on the main B3 route which runs from north to south between Soltau and Celle. Access from Hanover centre (the nearest city) is via the A37 which connects to the B3 in a north-easterly direction. The journey is approximately 70 km and take around 50 minutes.

Driving from Bremen will take you on the A27 autobahn which connects to the A7 to the south-east of Walsrode. The A7 runs south for a further 14 km and the junction for the Celle route is Buchholz. The B214 from Buchholz to Celle centre is a direct route with a distance of 28 km and an average driving time of 30 minutes.

Travelling from the north (Hamburg) is also via the A7 and the junction to the south-east of Soltau leads directly onto the B3. The B3 route to Bergen is a journey of approximately 100 km taking 1 hour through very pleasant undulating countryside.

Parking
Bergen predominantly has street parking. However there is additional off-street parking behind the main shopping area, accessible by taking the turning opposite the Sparkasse bank and then turning right opposite the bakery. All parking in Bergen is free.

By bus
CeBus operates local buses from Celle to Bergen (line 100) with hourly departures on weekdays and a couple of departures on Saturday, Sunday and holidays. There is also the Entdecker Bus for tourists, which runs through the villages in the region and goes as far as Celle railway station.

By train
Bergen's railway stations are exclusively for freight. The nearest passenger train station is located in Celle and there you can connect to the main rail system with trains to the major cities of Hamburg and Hanover which is where you will also find the nearest international airports. Celle Bahnhof runs a variety of localised trains and is also a stop for the ICE trains running on the Hamburg to Hanover route. Trains to Hanover and Hamburg stop hourly at the station as do individual ICE trains during busy periods. Metronom trains link Celle to Uelzen, Hanover and Göttingen as part of the regional transport network. Celle is also the terminus for routes S6 and S7 of the Hanover S-Bahn network. Links to the east and west are not part of the structured Bahnhof system so Hanover is the better option for travelling more extensively around the area.

By plane
The nearest airport to Bergen is Hanover which is a main international airport with regular flights from most European capitals and major cities. The airport is situated in Langenhagen which is 11 km to the north of Hanover centre and has easy access to the autobahn. To Bergen is a further 55 km from Hanover airport with an estimated driving time of 55 minutes. Hanover airport is also accessible by a combination of trains, buses and taxis.

Also in the region is Bremen which has many of the budget airlines operating regular flights from most European countries. The airport is located close to the city centre and there is a tram which departs every 5 to 10 minutes (on Sunday evenings up to 30 min) to Bremen city centre and the journey takes 11 min and costs €2.30. This airport is also close to the autobahn, but is 114 km and a 75-minute journey to Celle centre.

Hamburg Airport is the nearest major airport even serving long-haul flights. From there, you can take the S-Bahn to Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, a train to Celle and a bus to Bergen like described in the sections above.

Get around
Bergen is not a large town and one can walk to most places quite easily. There is no local public transport but there are plenty of taxis available. The nearest railway station is at Celle. For information on events and things going on in town, you can pick up information at the town hall (Rathaus) or go to Bergen Online; most parts of the site are in English and give details of most local events.

There is also the Entdecker Bus, a tourist bus running through the villages in the region going as far as Celle railway station. This is a subsidised route for the holiday season and normally runs from the end of June until mid-October, costing around €3 per person per day with children under 14 travelling free. For this, you can board/alight throughout the day at any of the predetermined stops. You may also take your bicycle as there is space allocated for them.

Historical sites




Getting around

 * The stops are:
 * . St. Lambertus Church (St.Lambertikirche), Am Friedensplatz 2;
 * . Dairy Farm (Müller-Meierhof), Lukenstraße 5;
 * . Gasthaus Kohlmann, Lukenstraße 6;
 * . Town Community Centre (Stadthaus), Lange Straße 1;
 * . Town Archives (Stadtarchiv), Am Museum 2;
 * . Preceptor's House (Präzeptorhaus), Schulstraße 10-12;
 * . Römstedthaus Local History Museum (Heimatmuseum Römstedthaus), Am Friedensplatz 7;
 * . Four-poster farmhouse (Vierständerhaus), Deichend 14;
 * . French Barracks (Franzosenkaserne), Deichend 16;
 * . Town Hall (Rathaus) Deichend 5-7;
 * . Registry Office (Standesamt), Deichend 3.
 * . Registry Office (Standesamt), Deichend 3.

Many of the villages in the region (accessed in summer by the Entdecker Bus mentioned above) have nature walks detailed on their tourist information boards, which also advises you of length of time taken.

Buy
Celler Strasse, leading southeast towards Celle, is lined by shops. Next to that street, at the edge of town, you will find some grocery chain stores.



Eat




Drink






Worship




Go next
Bergen is an ideal place to stay if you enjoy cycling or walking, there are numerous small roads and tracks that give you access to the largely unspoilt countryside. From most places within Bergen it will only take you a 10-min walk before you are away from the main roads and out into the woods and fields.


 * Uelzen - some interesting architecture including a colourful railway station and a castle
 * Hermannsburg - small town famous for its watermill
 * Munster - hosting military facilities dating from the late 19th century and a tank museum
 * Lüneburg - a beautiful medieval town whose buildings largely survived WWII
 * Soltau - best known for Heide Park, one of Germany's largest theme parks
 * Celle - another medieval city with timber-framed houses and a royal history
 * Hanover - the capital of Lower Saxony with a range of things to see and do