Hamelin

Infobox German Location
German name= Hameln
image_photo=Hameln Panorama 3-2006 small.jpg
image_caption=Panorama of Hamelin
Art = Town
Wappen = StadtwappenHameln.pnglat_deg = 52 |lat_min = 06 |lat_sec = 11
lon_deg = 9 |lon_min = 21 |lon_sec = 36
Lageplan =
Bundesland = Lower Saxony
Landkreis = Hameln-Pyrmont
Höhe = 68
Fläche = 102.30
Einwohner = 58696
Stand = 2006-12-30
PLZ = 31785–89, 3250
Vorwahl = 05151
Kfz = HM
Website = [http://www.hameln.de/ www.hameln.de]
Bürgermeister = Susanne Lippmann
Bürgermeistertitel = Oberbürgermeister
Partei = Independent

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.

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.

During the war, Hamelin prison was used by Germans for detentions of political prisoners, Social Democrates and Comunists, later political Prisoners all out of Europe (as also Jews and Homosexuals). Around 200 Humans found here the death, more died afterwards, when the Nazi Germans send the Prioners for death walks in April 1945 fearing the Allieds coming. 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.

ubdivisions

*Afferde
*Hastenbeck
*Halvestorf
*Haverbeck
*Hilligsfeld (including Groß and Klein Hilligsfeld)
*Sünteltal (including Holtensen, Welliehausen and Unsen)
*Klein Berkel
*Tündern (pop. around 2,700), [http://www.hameln.de/stadtportal/zahlen/bevoelkerung.htm Official site (in German)]
*Wehrbergen
*Rohrsen

Historical population

Famous citizens

*Gluckel of Hameln
*Heinrich Bürger (1806-1858)
*Wilhelm Freiherr von Hodenberg
*Karl Philipp Moritz
*Friedrich Wilhelm von Reden
*Susan Stahnke (b. 1967)
*Electronic group Funker Vogt

Army

Hamelin is Home of the British Army 28th engineers regiment.

External links

* [http://www.hameln.de/ Official site ] de icon
* [http://www.dewezet.de/ Local newspaper] de icon
* [http://www.army.mod.uk/royalengineers/org/28regt/history/index.html 28th Engineers Regiment]