Bomann-Museum

The Bomann-Museum stands in Celle, a town in Lower Saxony, and is one of the largest city museums in the region. Its main building, completed in 1907, occupies a prominent site on Schlossplatz, opposite Celle Castle. The museum’s architecture blends different historical styles, including Gothic and Renaissance elements, creating a striking visual effect. A tower once crowned the northern side but was removed in 1929 due to structural weakness. The building’s eclectic design has drawn both admiration and criticism, with writer Hermann Löns once calling it a ‘veritable architectural pudding’. The museum owes its name to Wilhelm Bomann, its founder and first director, who played a key role in its planning. In 1908 and 1911, Kaiser Wilhelm II visited the museum and donated a large battle painting by Carl Röchling depicting the 1813 Battle of Göhrde. Over the decades, the museum expanded, incorporating nearby half-timbered houses and adding a modern wing in 1993. Today it houses not only regional history but also a significant collection of modern art. Inside, visitors find a fully preserved 16th-century hall house from Narjesbergen, complete with living quarters, stables and a central hearth. A separate room shows beekeeping traditions of the Lüneburg Heath. The museum also displays early archaeological finds from the Aller and Örtze valleys. Upstairs, the Tansey Miniature Collection features over a hundred finely painted portraits from the 16th to 20th centuries, many by artists who worked in Geneva after fleeing as Huguenots.