Case file · Folklore / legend
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Hamelin's records say that on 26 June 1284, 130 children left the town with a piper in coloured clothes and were never seen again.
1284 CE · 52.10, 9.36 · status: legend
The account
The earliest source is a church window of about 1300; rats were added only in the 16th century. A street where no music may be played is still called the Bungelosenstraße.
The sceptical view
Theories include emigration to the east, a children's crusade, disease or a battle; the event itself may have a real core.