Winsen an der Aller

Winsen an der Aller or Winsen (Aller) is a town on the banks of the River Aller in the district of Celle in Lower Saxony. It lies within the Lüneburg Heath.

Understand
Winsen has a population of around 12,900 and lies on the southern edge of the Lüneburg Heath, close to the huge military training area of Bergen-Hohne. It is about 15 km northwest of the county town of Celle. Within the borough of Winsen are the villages of Bannetze, Meißendorf, Stedden, Südwinsen, Thören, Walle and Wolthausen.

Winsen's church is dedicated to John the Baptist which is a clue to when it was founded. All other villages with churches named after John the Baptist appeared around AD 800.

Today Winsen is a popular local recreation and holiday sport and is an official climatic health spa (Luftkurort).

By rail
The nearest railway station is Celle on the Hamburg to Hanover railway where there are hourly Intercity (IC) trains to both cities as well as ICE trains during the rush hour. Celle is also the terminus of routes S 6 and S 7 of the Hanover S-Bahn.

By road
Winsen is at the crossroads of the north-south L298 state road from Bergen to Ovelgönne, and the east-west L180 from Celle to Bannetze.


 * From Celle. Take the L180 to Winsen (Aller).
 * From Hanover on the A7. Exit at Junction 52, "Mellendorf", and head for Celle. After 7 km, turn L just after Allerhop onto the L298 to Winsen (Aller).
 * From Hamburg/Bremen on the A7. Exit at Junction 53, "Schwarmstedt", and head for Celle on the B214. At Ovelgönne, turn L onto the L298 to Winsen (Aller).

Get around
Winsen has a compact town centre just north of the River Aller which is easy to get around on foot. Most of the sights and places to eat in the town itself are walkable from the centre.

See

 * Church of St. John the Baptist, probably built in the 9th century, but since extended.
 * Junker Gate (Junkerntor), one of the oldest buildings in Winsen. It used to be the entrance to the manor house (Rittergut). The gate appears on Winsen’s coat of arms.
 * Prince’s Stones (Prinzensteine), by the track between Winsen and Oldau recall a decisive battle on 28 May 1388 during the Lüneburg War of Succession. According to legend two princes wounded each other mortally at this spot before they realised they were brothers.
 * Town hall (Rathaus) built on the site of the original district office that had to be demolished. The present building is a baroque affair dating to the 18th century.

Buy
As a small country town, Winsen has all the basics, but for serious shopping you need to go to Celle, or even Hanover.

Connect
The nearest Internet café is Karacho in Celle at Burger Landstraße 6.

Go next



 * Meißendorf Lakes and Bannetze Moor, a nature reserve and bird sanctuary centred on lakes that used to be a huge network of ponds built to farm fish. Circular walk round the main lake. A bird hide has good views of the cormorant colony and countless water fowl and birds of prey. A short walk away in the woods is Gut Sunder a former manor house; now a café (see above) and wildlife information centre.
 * German Oil Museum (Deutsches Erdölmuseum), Schwarzer Weg 7-9, Wietze (10 min drive from Winsen on the B214). Open Tu-Su and holidays. Mar-May 10:00-17:00, Jun-Aug 10:00-18:00, Sep-Nov 10:00-17:00. Tel: +49 5146 92341. . More interesting than it sounds, the German Oil Museum describes how local farmers scooped oil from tar pits and sold it for lubrication and medicinal purposes. Later over 2,000 wells were bored in the area and it became a major industry. €5 (Family tickets €9, concessions €2.50, under 6 go free).