Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont

Hamelin-Pyrmont

Hamelin-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 .-History:...

 and has a population of 58,696 (as at 2006).

Hamelin is also the gateway to the surrounding Weserbergland

Weserbergland

The 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, Hesse,...

 mountains, which can be visited by hikers and bikers.
The town is famous for the folk tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin , a medieval story that tells of a tragedy that befell the town in the thirteenth century.