Editing Hamelin (section)

==History==
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2017}}
Hameln started with a monastery, which was founded as early as 851 AD; its surrounding village became a town by the 12th century. The incident involving the "Pied Piper" (see below) is said to have occurred in 1284 and may be based on a true event, although somewhat different from the traditional 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]] of Bönninghausen, a general in the [[Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Emperor]], lost the [[Battle of Oldendorf]] to the Swedish [[Dodo zu Innhausen und Knyphausen|General Kniphausen]], after Hamelin had been besieged by the Swedish army.

The era of the town's greatest prosperity began in 1664, when Hamelin became a fortified border town of the [[Principality of Calenberg]]. In 1705, it became part of the newly created [[Electorate of Hanover]] when [[George I of Great Britain|George Louis, Prince of Calenberg]], later King George I of [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]], inherited the [[Principality of Lüneburg]].

Hameln was surrounded by four fortresses, which gave it the nickname "Gibraltar of the North", and was the most heavily fortified town in the Electorate of Hanover. The first fort (Fort George) was built between 1760 and 1763, the second (Fort Wilhelm) in 1774, a third in 1784, and the last, called Fort Luise, was built in 1806.

In 1806, Hamelin [[Siege of Hamelin|surrendered without a fight]] to the French forces, after [[Napoleon]]'s victory at the [[Battle of Jena-Auerstedt]]. Napoleon's forces subsequently pulled down the town's historic walls, the guard towers, and the three fortresses at the other side of the river Weser. In 1843, the people of Hamelin built a sightseeing tower on the Klüt Hill out of the ruins of Fort George. The tower is called the ''Klütturm'' and is a popular sight for tourists.

In 1867 Hamelin became part of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]], which annexed Hanover in the aftermath of the [[Austro-Prussian War]] of 1866.

Between 1933 and 1937, the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi regime]] held the [[Reich Harvest Thanksgiving Festival]] at the nearby [[Bückeberg (Hagenohsen)|Bückeberg]] hill, to celebrate the achievements of Germany's farmers.

During [[World War II]], [[Hamelin Prison]] was used for the detention of [[Social Democrat]]s, [[Communist]]s, and other [[political prisoner]]s. Around 200 died there, and more died in April 1945, when the Nazis sent the prisoners on long marches, fearing the Allied advance. Just after the war, Hamelin prison was used by British Occupation Forces for the detention of Germans accused of war crimes. Following their conviction, around 200 were hanged there, including [[Irma Grese]] and [[Josef Kramer]], along with over a dozen of the perpetrators of the [[Stalag Luft III murders]]. The prison has since been turned into a hotel.<ref name="capitalpunishment" >{{cite web |url=http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/hameln.htm |title=Post World War II hangings under British jurisdiction at Hameln Prison in Germany. }}</ref> Executed war criminals were interred in the prison yard until it became full, and further burials took place at the Am Wehl Cemetery in Hameln. In March 1954, German authorities began exhuming the 91 bodies from the prison yard, which were reburied in individual graves in consecrated ground in Am Wehl Cemetery.<ref name="capitalpunishment" />

The [[coat of arms]] (German: ''Wappen'') of Hamelin depicts the Minster of St. Boniface, the oldest church in the city.<ref>[http://www.muenster-hameln.de/startpage.html Start page] at muenster-hameln.de</ref>