Hamelin

Hamelin (German: Hameln) is a town in Lower Saxony, 50 km southwest of Hanover. It is the scene of the Pied Piper story (German: Rattenfänger von Hameln), about the man who expelled rats from the town by playing the pipe, and then abducted the town's children when the citizenry refused to pay him what they had agreed. The town is visited by some three million visitors each year and is easy to reach from Hannover by train (S-Bahn).

By airplane
The nearest airport and high-speed train station are in Hanover. From there you may transfer to Hamelin thrice an hour using suburban line S5 or S51 in 40–45 minutes.

By train
Since the year 2000, the S-Train Lines and  have offered connections every half hour from Hannover's train station. Likewise, since 2002 hourly connections to Paderborn have been available. Every hour connections to the Bünde-Löhne-Rinteln-Hameln-Elze-Hildesheim route are available via the "Weser train" (line RB 77).

On foot
The European far-distance hiking trail E11 passes through Hamelin on its way from the Netherlands, Osnabrück and the Porta Westfalica, continuing to the Harz mountains and Berlin.

See

 * Several romantic 16th-century half-timbered houses with lavish ornaments, e.g. Stiftsherrenhaus (canons' house) and Bürgerhaus (house of the citizenry)

Go next

 * Hanover, state capital, 50 km northeast (40–45 minutes by train)
 * Hildesheim, historical city with several medieval cultural monuments, 50 km east (50 minutes by train)
 * Lemgo, extraordinarily well-preserved old town with many medieval and Renaissance merchant's houses, 40 km west
 * Detmold, with the iconic Hermann's monument, 45 km west
 * Bodenwerder, origin city of the Baron von Münchausen legends, namesake of Munchausen syndrome, with entertaining statues throughout the town commemorating the myths