The history of Hameln

First became evident about the year 800 A.D., when, not far from the village of Hameln, the "Imperial Abbey of Fulda" founded a Benedictine monastery. In the 11th century Hameln developed into a market centre and about 1200 A.D. the city and its inhabitants are mentioned on record for the first time. The name of the city is known world-wide because of the Exodus of the children of Hameln, from which the Pied Piper Legend developed. To the Canon Johann von Pohle, we owe the first historical record in his book "The Chronicle of the Churches of Hameln"(1384) From 1426 until 1572 Hameln was a member of the "Hansa League".

Hameln´s reputation as a mill-town daters from 1635 when the Municipal Mill was built on the river island. In the year 1717 the custom of regular boundary walks (beating the bound) by the male citizens started. Since 1930 this local custom has been continued by the "Grenzbeziehungsverein" (boundary walking club) until the present day.

During the Seven Year War Hameln was alternately occupied by English and French forces: King George III of England reinforced the fortress, which had existed from 1660, by including the "Klüt". The work was finished in 1784 and Hameln was then known as the "Gibraltar of the North". Unfortunately in 1806, Napoleon ordered the fortress to be dismantled. The fortress had been handed over by Prussian troops without battle. In 1819 the first Weser steamer, the "Duke of Cambridge", passed the town. In 1843 a regular passenger steam boat service was commenced by the "United Weser Steam Shipping Company", founded in Hameln. Luckily Hameln was passed over by the "Second World War" and received only minor damage. With enthusiasm, skill and lots of hard work, the damage done to the "Old Town" was renovated or reconstructed. In spite of its history, the town doesn´t want to be a museum; on the contrary, old and new have been blended into a lively modern-day unit.

Information provided by Verkehrsverein Hameln e.V. Tourist Information