Set high up on a wall diagonally opposite the tourist office are 16 bells that play various tunes (including Papageno's song from Mozart's The Magic Flute) each day at 11am, 1pm and 5pm from April to October. Beneath them a box opens up and five carved figures of historical relation to the town – including city founder Duke Otto II and former resident Queen Caroline Mathilde – circle around on a track.
Glockenspiel
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
22.88 MILES
Proof that Hanover is not all buttoned-down business are the grandiose Baroque Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen, about 5km north of the city centre, which…
11.69 MILES
The Nazi-built camp at Bergen-Belsen began its existence in 1940 as a POW camp, but became a concentration camp after being taken over by the SS in 1943,…
23.11 MILES
The Sprengel Museum is held in extremely high esteem, both for the design of the building as well as for the art housed inside. Its huge interior spaces…
22.95 MILES
An excellent way to get your bearings in Hanover is to visit the Neues Rathaus (built 1901–13) and ascend 98m in the curved elevator (the only one of its…
23.1 MILES
The jewel in the crown of the Herrenhäuser Gärten is grand both in format and history, having been laid out as a Baroque garden in 1714 under the tutelage…
21.48 MILES
More than 640 hectares (almost twice the size of NYC's Central Park), Europe's largest city forest, Eilenriede, is also known as Hanover's grüne Lunge …
22.71 MILES
The oldest botanical garden in Germany is redolent with a mind-boggling assortment of global flora – including glasshouses for orchids, cacti and tropical…
22.59 MILES
It’s always worth checking listings for the Kestner Gesellschaft. Founded in 1916 to bring innovative artworks from international artists to Hanover, the…
Nearby attractions
0.05 MILES
The highlight of Celle's 13th-century Stadtkirche is the 235 steps you can climb to the top of the church steeple for an amazing view of the city – not…
0.1 MILES
This museum for cultural history houses a broad historic collection on the work, lives and times of ordinary people in the region. There are Bronze Age…
0.1 MILES
Billed as the world's first '24-hour art gallery', Celle's sexy cubed Kunstmuseum isn't actually open around the clock. During regular opening hours, you…
0.17 MILES
Celle’s wedding-cake Schloss was built in 1292 by Otto Der Strenge (Otto the Strict) as a town fortification; in 1378 it was expanded and turned into a…
0.24 MILES
Dating back to 1740, Celle’s synagogue is the oldest in northern Germany. It was partially destroyed during Kristallnacht and looks just like any other…
11.69 MILES
The Nazi-built camp at Bergen-Belsen began its existence in 1940 as a POW camp, but became a concentration camp after being taken over by the SS in 1943,…
21.39 MILES
More than 175 species of animals roam modern enclosures at this 22-hectare zoo east of the centre, though the experience doesn't feel particularly worth…
21.48 MILES
More than 640 hectares (almost twice the size of NYC's Central Park), Europe's largest city forest, Eilenriede, is also known as Hanover's grüne Lunge …