Where is hamelin

Here, the Weser-Renaissance architecture — half-timbered, littered with figurines and polychrome wood-carvings — looks like storyland scenery painted for Grimm fairytales. In fact it was created in the 16th century by Italian architects commissioned to bring a touch of class to the houses of wealthy Weser burgers, who made their money out of traffic on the river.

Its bakeries are still infested with rats — but these days they are made of bread and cake. It was here that he told his famously exaggerated stories to his friends, unaware that his name would eventually become associated with a syndrome in which unstable individuals attempt to draw attention to themselves by pretending to be ill.

International rail connections are via Cologne from Brussels Thalys , which connects with the Eurostar from London. All that leads to one particularly macabre reading of the Pied Piper legend. Perhaps the Piper, emblematic of a pagan shaman, playing his flute, was leading the youth of Hamelin to their midsummer festivities when the local Christian faction, hoping to cement conversion of the region, waylaid and massacred the group. A less bloody theory: maybe the children were spirited away to local monasteries.

If the tale suggests a possible historical tragedy, though, it also offers an artistic redemption as well. And it appears in international art, literature and music. The Pied Piper is a shared heritage of many people, and that cultural heritage connects people. He also, in the end, brought a larger one together. If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc. The grim truth behind the Pied Piper. Share using Email. By Raphael Kadushin 3rd September Writers like the Grimm Brothers and Robert Browning may have shaped the Pied Piper legend into art, but it turns out the story is likely based on an actual historical incident.

Wuhan 8, Kilometer. Lagos 5, Kilometer. Jakarta 10, Kilometer. Tokyo 10, Kilometer. New York City 6, Kilometer. Dongguan 8, Kilometer. Taipei 9, Kilometer. Kinshasa 6, Kilometer. Lima 9, Kilometer. Cairo 2, Kilometer. London Kilometer. Chongqing 8, Kilometer.

Chengdu 7, Kilometer. Baghdad 3, Kilometer. Nanjing 9, Kilometer. Tehran 3, Kilometer. Nanchong 8, Kilometer. Hong Kong 9, Kilometer. Lahore 5, Kilometer. Shenyang 9, Kilometer. Hangzhou 9, Kilometer. Hamelin is set amid the Weser Upland hills and is an ideal base for scenic walks, hiking tours, bike rides, boat trips and tours on the water. Needless to say, the town also presents an excellent opportunity to make friends with a small animal that you'd normally go out of your way to avoid.

Hamelin is a beautifully restored historical town with magnificent timber-framed and sandstone buildings, many of which date back to the Renaissance period.

Osterstrasse and the Pferdemarkt square form the tokenistic centre. Follow the rat trail: The cobbles in Hamelin are painted with these little animals, who point the way to the main attractions in the town. This is, of course, associated with the legend of the Pied Piper.

As the story goes, a rat catcher was called to the town in but was subsequently cheated of his fee.