thatswhywelovegermany:

Pied Piper House, Hameln, Lower Saxony

An inscription on a wooden beam tells about the story of the Pied Piper of Hameln and dates it to June 26, 1284.

Around that time, the town was infested with rats and nobody was able to get rid of them. One day, a traveling piper promised to relieve the town of the rats for a high wage. The man dressed in colorful clothes started to play his pipe and was soon surrounded by rats. When he saw no more rats coming, he led them out of town and into the river Weser where they drowned. The council, however, which had expected the man wo work for at least several months, said that this was way too quickly done and did not want to pay him the promised wage. Infuriated, the man left the town.

Some time later, the man came back on a Sunday, when all the adults were at church. Again, he played his pipe, but instead of rats, all the children came to listen to him. While playing music, he led the children out of the town and into the woods. 130 children had disappeared forever. The council of Hameln, however, prohibited playing music on the streets for all eternity.