According to legend, on June 26, 1284 the mysterious Pied Piper of Hamelin lured the city’s children away, never to be seen again. 

The town of Hamelin hasn’t forgotten this loss. The street where, supposedly, the children were last seen is called Bungelosen­strasse: street without drums”. Even so many years after the event, no one is allowed to play music or dance there. Oral tradition preserved and enriched the story until the Brothers Grimm included it in their compil­ation of German legends, Deutsche Sagen (1816–18). In the Grimms’ version, mediæval Hamelin is hit by a plague of rats. A seemingly hero-like figure appears, in the shape of a mysterious stranger dressed in red and yellow clothes. He promises to rid the town of the vermin, and the townsmen promise him money in exchange. The rat-catcher has a strange, almost supernatural gift: he plays a tune on his pipe that lures the rats into the river Weser, where they all drown. But, blinded by their greed, the townsmen refuse to honour their promise and pay the Piper his fee. The Piper leaves the town, plotting his revenge. When he returns to Hamelin, he wears the attire of a hunter. He plays a melody that hypnotises the children, who follow him to the mountains, never to be seen again.
The lost children of Hamelin | Maria J. Pérez Cuervo This is an excellent page that runs through various theories. So worth taking the time to visit. 

Rattenfänger von Hameln
Germany 1978
Designer: Günter Jacki

A number of references can be found to this strange incident that shook the small medieval town to its core. An entry in the town records, 100 years after the event, states simply “It is 100 years since our children left.” and offers no explanation. A little more information can be found on a 1602 window “A.D. 1284 – on the 26th of June – the day of St John and St Paul – 130 children – born in Hamelin – were led out of the town by a piper wearing multicoloured clothes. After passing the Calvary near the Koppenberg they disappeared forever.” 

 

The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Part of Germany’s 2020 Legends of Germany series
Designers: Jan-Niklas Kröger and Thomas Steinacker 
The second stamp shows the postmark issued for this stamp

A few more references can be found scattered about in Hamelin’s recorded history: 

The stained-glass window in the town’s St Nicolai church, destroyed in the 17th Century but described in earlier accounts, reportedly illustrated the figure of the Pied Piper leading several ghostly white children. And the 15th Century Luneburg manuscript, an early German account of the event, along with five historical memory verses, some in Latin and others in Middle Low German, all refer to a similar story of 130 children or young people vanishing on the 26 June 1284, following a pied piper to a place called Calvary or Koppen.
The grim truth behind the Pied Piper

Austria shares a similar tale from the same time period
Pied Piper of Korneuburg
Austria’s 1998 Myths and Legends series
Designer: Adolf Tuma
Engraver: Werner Pfeiler  

What is the true story behind this tale? Its not clear, but that doesn’t stop us from speculating. Theories abound from an angry rat catcher who exacted vengeance on a town that cheated him, to kidnapping, economic migration, and dancing mania. As the BBC explains – “theories are legion”. The grim truth behind the Pied Piper

Economic migrants to larger cities:  

The theories are legion, according to Wibke Reimer, project coordinator at the Hameln Museum who has been organising a special exhibit that focuses on the global reach of the Pied Piper legend. One of the leading current theories suggests the town’s youth were part of a migration of Germans to Eastern Europe fuelled by an economic depression.

“In this scenario,” Reimer said, “the Pied Piper played the role of a so-called locator or recruiter. They were responsible for organising migrations to the east and were said to have worn colourful garments and played an instrument to attract the attention of possible settlers.”
[ibid]

Pied Piper
From Hungary’s 1959 Fairy Tales series
Designer: Gábor Eva

Children’s Crusade to the Holy Lands where death and enslavement were their fate:  

More fanciful theories abound, too. Some historians suggest the legend reflects a 13th Century children’s crusade, part of the wave of medieval crusades aimed at winning back the Holy Land.  
[ibid]

Pied Piper of Hameln
Cambodia’s 2000 Children’s Stories series

Or maybe they were part of a peculiar mania that afflicted Europeans:  

More intriguing is a theory that points to the medieval phenomenon of “dancing mania”, driven by a succession of pandemics and natural disasters. Known as St Vitus’ Dance, the dancing plague is documented surfacing in continental Europe as early as the 11th Century. A form of mass hysteria, the dance could spread from individuals to large groups, all driven by an unshakeable compulsion to dance feverishly, sometimes for weeks, often leaping and singing and sometimes hallucinating to the point of exhaustion and occasionally death, like a top that can’t stop spinning.
[ibid]

According to the article, one such outbreak of St. Vitus’ Dance overtook a town near Hamelin during that time period. The mania may have spread to Hamelin, causing some to literally dance themselves to death. 

Its not just a Grimm’s Fairy Tale.  

Read more here: 
The lost children of Hamelin | Maria J. Pérez Cuervo

and don’t forget to visit the Hameln Museum. 

museumhameln.de | Museum Hameln – Mit dem Rattenfänger

Last year Stamp of the Day featured the Pied Piper as well. But this year, the story is more fleshed out because I wasn’t happy with the minimalist details last year. Its nice to have a do-over opportunity.