Hamelin (
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
:
Hameln) is a town on the river Weser in
Lower SaxonyLower Saxony lies in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen Bundesländer of Germany...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
. It is the capital of the district of
Hamelin-PyrmontHamelin-Pyrmont is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Schaumburg, Hanover, Hildesheim and Holzminden, and by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia ....
and has a population of 58,696 (as at 2006).
Hamelin is also the gateway to the surrounding
WeserberglandThe Weser Uplands is a hill region in Germany The Weser Uplands (German: Weserbergland) is a hill region (Bergland = uplands, hills or hill region) in Germany The Weser Uplands (German: Weserbergland) is a hill region (Bergland = uplands, hills or hill region) in Germany (Lower Saxony,...
mountains, which can be visited by hikers and bikers.
The town is famous for the folk tale of
The Pied Piper of HamelinThe Pied Piper of Hamelin is a legend about the abduction of many children from the town of Hamelin , Germany. Famous versions of the legend are given by the Brothers Grimm and, in English, by Robert Browning....
(German:
Der Rattenfänger von Hameln), a medieval story that tells of a tragedy that befell the town in the thirteenth century.
Hamelin (
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
:
Hameln) is a town on the river Weser in
Lower SaxonyLower Saxony lies in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen Bundesländer of Germany...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
. It is the capital of the district of
Hamelin-PyrmontHamelin-Pyrmont is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Schaumburg, Hanover, Hildesheim and Holzminden, and by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia ....
and has a population of 58,696 (as at 2006).
Hamelin is also the gateway to the surrounding
WeserberglandThe Weser Uplands is a hill region in Germany The Weser Uplands (German: Weserbergland) is a hill region (Bergland = uplands, hills or hill region) in Germany The Weser Uplands (German: Weserbergland) is a hill region (Bergland = uplands, hills or hill region) in Germany (Lower Saxony,...
mountains, which can be visited by hikers and bikers.
History
The town is famous for the folk tale of
The Pied Piper of HamelinThe Pied Piper of Hamelin is a legend about the abduction of many children from the town of Hamelin , Germany. Famous versions of the legend are given by the Brothers Grimm and, in English, by Robert Browning....
(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 GrimmThe Brothers Grimm , Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics who were best known for publishing collections of folk tales and fairy tales and for their work in linguistics, relating to how the sounds in words shift over time .They are among the best known story...
made it popular throughout the world; it is also the subject of well-known poems by Goethe and
Robert BrowningRobert Browning was an English poet and milly playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
. Although Hamelin has a fine medieval old town with some remarkable buildings, the main attraction is the tale of the Pied Piper. In the summer every Sunday, the
tale is performedMichael Boyer is an American actor and showman who has been living the role of the Pied Piper of Hamelin in Germany, for nearly 15 years now...
by actors in the town centre.
Hamelin started with a monastery, which was founded as early as 851 AD. A village grew in the neighbourhood and had become 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 LeagueThe Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities and their guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe, from the Baltic to the North Sea and inland, during the Late Middle Ages and early modern period...
.
In June 1634, during the
Thirty Years' WarThe Thirty Years' War was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. The war was fought primarily in Germany and at various points involved most of the countries of Europe...
, Lothar Dietrich Freiherr von Bönninghausen, a General with the Imperial Army, lost the
Battle of OldendorfThe Battle of Oldendorf on 8 July 1633 was a battle of the Thirty Years' War between the Swedish Empire and the Holy Roman Empire near Hessisch-Oldendorf, Lower Saxony, Germany...
to Swedish General von Kniphausen, in the preface of which Hameln was besieged by the Swedish army.
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-AuerstedtThe twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia...
was lost. All of the historic walls and guard towers were pulled down by Napoleon's 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. The town became part of
PrussiaPrussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries this state had substantial influence on German and European history...
in 1867.
During the Second World War, Hamelin prison was used for the detention of political prisoners, Social Democrats, Communists and political prisoners. Around 200 died here; more died afterwards, when the Nazis sent the prisoners on death marches in April 1945 fearing the Allied advance. Just after the war, Hamelin prison was used by British Occupation Forces for the detention of German war criminals. More than 200 of them were hanged there including
Irma GreseIrma Ida Ilse Grese was employed at the Nazi concentration camps of Ravensbrück, Auschwitz; and was a warden of the women's section of Bergen-Belsen.-Background:...
and
Josef KramerJosef Kramer was the Commandant of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Dubbed "The Beast of Belsen" by camp inmates; he was a notorious Nazi war criminal, directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of people...
. It has since been turned into a hotel.
Pronunciation
The town's name can be pronounced in a number of different ways, eg: German - "H
armeln", English - "Ham
lin", on British Forces Broadcasting Service (
BFBSBFBS may refer to:*British Forces Broadcasting Service*British and Foreign Bible Society...
) radio - "Ham
meln", by most British soldiers stationed in the town - "Hamel".
Subdivisions
- Afferde
- Hastenbeck
- Halvestorf
- Haverbeck
- Hilligsfeld (including Groß and Klein Hilligsfeld)
- Sünteltal (including Holtensen, Welliehausen and Unsen)
- Klein Berkel
- Tündern (pop. around 2,700), Official site (in German)
- Wehrbergen
- Rohrsen
Historical population
| Year | Inhabitants |
|---|
| 1689 |
2,398 |
| 1825 |
5,326 |
| 1905 |
21,385 |
| 1939 |
32,000 |
| 1968 |
48,787 |
| 2005 |
58,872 |
Famous citizens
- Gluckel of Hameln
Glückel of Hameln was a Jewish businesswoman and diarist, whose account of her life provides scholars with an intimate picture of Jewish life in Germany in the late-seventeenth-early eighteenth century...
- Heinrich Bürger
Heinrich Bürger was a by birth German physicist and biologist employed by the Dutch government, and an entrepreneur. He was an important person for the study of Japanese fauna and flora.-Background:Bürger's exact birth date is unknown...
(1806-1858)
- Wilhelm Freiherr von Hodenberg
- Karl Philipp Moritz
Karl Philipp Moritz was a German author, editor and essayist of the Sturm und Drang, late enlightenment, and classicist periods, influencing early German Romanticism as well...
- Friedrich Wilhelm von Reden
Friedrich Wilhelm von Reden was a German pioneer in mining and metallurgy. He was born in Hameln in the Electorate of Hanover and died in Michelsdorf in Prussian Silesia.- Life :...
- Peter the Wild Boy
Peter the Wild Boy was a mentally handicapped Hanoverian of unknown parentage, who in 1725 was found living wild in the woods near Hamelin, the town of Pied Piper legend...
(found 1725)
- Susan Stahnke (born 1967)
- Electronic group Funker Vogt
Funker Vogt is a German aggrotech band, formed by Gerrit Thomas and Jens Kästel in 1995.- History :The members consist of Gerrit Thomas, Jens Kästel, Björn Böttcher, Frank Schweigert , and Kai Schmidt. They all hail from the town of Hameln in Germany...
External links