2019-06-26 Wed

Do you remember reading the weird story of Hamelin, a town in Germany, which was plagued by rat problems and how a rat-catcher was hired by the town to lure rats away with his magic pipe. And when the citizens refuse to pay for this service, he retaliates by using his instrument’s magical power on their children, leading them away as he had the rats.

This legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin has been a popular folklore for many years. Many are even looking into the historicity of it. The Grimm Brothers cite 26th June 1284 as the date the Pied Piper led the children out of the town. The Rat Catcher's Day is celebrated on 26 June to commemorate the myth of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

The town of Hamelin – still to this day – honours the legend and continues to maintain information about the Pied Piper legend and possible origins of the story on its website. There are a lot of stamps too that celebrate this famous tale of rats, magic pipes and missing children. The stamp depicted besides is a 50 pfennigs Germany stamp issued in 1978. The stamp depicts the Rat Catcher or the Pied Piper leading the children away from the town.

Image Courtesy: Amazom.com