ABSTRACT
The Dutchman Constantijn Huygens reported in June 1680 in his travel diary that Frenchmen would stand in the highest favour at the court of Georg Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, due to the influence of the Duchess, Eleonore Desmier dOlbreuse. The court lists from that time reveal how many French people were present in Celle; although not all of them were Huguenots, most of them were. Whilst it would undoubtedly be too simplistic to think of the Celle Huguenot refuge primarily as a court community, nevertheless even those Huguenots who were not directly involved with the court found their lives entangled with it. The numerous French people in Celle offered the possibility of opening up Georg Wilhelm's court to French culture, which had become the model for the princes of Europe, not least because of the splendour of the court of the 'Sun King', Louis XIV.
