Hameln
The town of the Pied Piper story, whose earliest record says a hundred and thirty children were lost in 1284.
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A window in Hameln's church, recorded before it was destroyed, showed a piper and children and carried an inscription about the loss of a hundred and thirty of the town's children on 26 June 1284; a note in the town chronicle repeats the date. The rat-catching element appears only in later versions, and what actually happened, if anything, has never been established, with emigration, illness and other explanations proposed. The RattenfƤngerhaus of 1603 and other Weser Renaissance houses carry the ornate stonework of that regional style. Open-air performances of the story run on Sundays in summer, and the town uses rat imagery everywhere.
What you actually see
- The Weser Renaissance houses - ornate stone and gable work of about 1600.
- The RattenfƤngerhaus - a 1603 building carrying the story's inscription.
- The Sunday performances - open-air enactments of the tale in summer.
- The 1284 record - the earliest documented reference to the lost children.
When to go
May to September, when the open-air play runs on Sunday middays and a musical on Wednesdays. The town is quiet outside the season.
Honest expectations
The story is commercialised heavily throughout the town. What happened in 1284, if anything, is unknown. Performances are in German.
Nearby
Hann. MĆ¼nden lies south up the Weser; Hanover is northeast.
What to pack for Hameln
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
