Hamelin

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For other uses, see Hamelin (disambiguation).

Hamelin
Panorama of Hamelin
Coat of arms	Location

Administration
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
District	Hameln-Pyrmont
Lord Mayor	Susanne Lippmann (Ind.)
Basic statistics
Area	102.30 km² (39.5 sq mi)
Elevation	68 m (223 ft)
Population	58,696 (30/12/2006)
- Density	574 /km² (1,486 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	HM
Postal codes	31785–89, 3250
Area code	05151
Website	www.hameln.de Coordinates: 52°06′11″N 9°21′36″E / 52.10306, 9.36

Hamelin (German: Hameln) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,872 (as at 2005).

Hamelin is also the gateway to the surrounding Weserbergland mountains, which can be visited by hikers and bikers.

1 History
2 Subdivisions
3 Historical population
4 Famous citizens
5 Army
6 External links

[edit] History

The town is famous for the folk tale of The Pied Piper of Hamelin (German: Der Rattenfänger von Hameln), a medieval story that tells of a tragedy that befell the town in the thirteenth century. The version written by the Brothers Grimm made it popular throughout the world; it is also the subject of well-known poems by Goethe and Robert Browning. Although Hamelin has a fine medieval old town with some remarkable buildings, the main attraction is the Pied Piper story. In the summer every Sunday, the tale is performed by actors in the town centre. Once a month during this time, the tale is performed in English.

Hamelin started with a monastery, which was founded as early as 851 AD. A village grew in the neighbourhood and had became a town by the 12th century. The incident with the Pied Piper is said to have happened in 1284 and may be based on a true event, although somewhat different from the tale. In the 15th and 16th centuries Hamelin was a minor member of the Hanseatic League.

In June 1634, during the Thirty Years' War, Lothar Dietrich Freiherr von Bönninghausen, a General with the Imperial Army, lost a battle near Hamelin to Swedish General von Kniphausen.

Hamelin was surrounded by four fortresses, which gave it the nickname "Gibraltar Of The North". It was the heaviest protected City of the Kingdom of Hanover. The first fort (Fort George) was built from 1760-1763, the second (Fort Wilhelm) and third were built 1774 and 1784, the last fort (called Fort Luise) was built 1806.

In 1808 Hamelin surrendered without fighting Napoleon, after the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt was lost. All of the historic walls and guard towers were pulled down by Napoleons forces. In 1843 the people of Hamelin built a sightseeing tower out of the ruins of Fort George onto the Klüt Hill. The sightseeing tower is called "Klütturm" and is a popular spot for tourists with an amazing view over the historic town.

The era of greatest wealth began in 1664, when Hamelin became a fortified border town of the Duchy of Brunswick-Calenberg. In 1867 the town became part of Prussia.

Just after the Second World War, Hamelin prison was used by the British Occupation Forces (it has since been turned into a hotel),for the detention of German war criminals. More than 200 of them were hanged there; among them Irma Grese and Josef Kramer.