Editing Rotenburg an der Wümme (section)

==History==
The town was founded in 1195, when [[Prince-Bishop of Verden|Prince-Bishop]] Rudolf I of [[Prince-Bishopric of Verden|Verden]] built a castle in the area. The town then belonged to the [[Prince-Bishopric of Verden]] which was established in 1180. The castle took its name from the colour of the bricks (''rot'' means "red", ''Burg'' "castle"). The adjoining settlement remained a tiny village until the 19th century.

In 1648 the Prince-Bishopric was transformed into the [[Principality of Verden]], which was first ruled in [[personal union]] by the Swedish Crown, interrupted by Danish occupation from 1712 to 1715. From then on it was ruled by the [[House of Hanover|Hanoverian]] Crown.

=== Swedish period ===
After the [[Thirty Years' War]], the rule of the Bishops of Verden ended and Rotenburg became part of the secularised [[Duchy of Verden]] under Swedish rule. In this period its new rulers built the castle with the remnants of the ''[[Schloss]]'' into a modern fortress as an outpost to protect the main fortress at [[Stade]]. This rebuilding work required the western part of the town to be demolished, making it necessary to move the main area of settlement to the east. Even the parish church had to be taken down and moved to the site of the present town church.

In the [[Swedish-Brandenburg War]] from 1675 to 1676 the town was captured during a [[Bremen-Verden Campaign|military campaign]] by an alliance of Denmark and several states of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], and it remained in Allied hands until the end of the war in 1679.
In the wake of the [[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1679)|Treaty of Saint Germain]] in 1679 Rotenburg was returned to Sweden.

The fortress remained in operation until roughly 1680. After that it was neglected, the building being torn down and only the fortifications being modernised in places. After 1843 the last ramparts were levelled. In its place today is the terrain of the old local history museum. In the period between 1626 and 1835 there were seven town fires, which destroyed a significant part of the town's infrastructure. Swedish rule lasted until the town was captured by [[Denmark]] in 1712.

=== Later history ===
[[File:Drei Generationen Rotenburg.jpg|thumb|Cast in bronze by [[Carsten Eggers]]: ''Drei Generationen'' (Three generations); centre of Wümme]]
The [[Kingdom of Hanover]] incorporated the principality in a [[real union]]; the princely territory, including Rotenburg upon Wümme, became part of the new [[Stade (region)|Stade Region]], established in 1823. In 1866, Prussia annexed the territory from Hannover. As a result, Rotenburg was renamed ''Rotenburg in Hannover''. In May 1969, the town and district authorities changed the name to "Rotenburg an der Wümme". In 2006, during the [[World Cup 2006|World Cup]], Rotenburg hosted the national team from [[Trinidad and Tobago]].