|
|
Article: Hameln in tune with Pied Piper legend.(Travel)
- Article from:
- The Boston Herald
- Article date:
- February 13, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Boston Herald. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Special to the Herald
Welcome to the German river city of Hameln, the city with the ratty reputation. Real rats - a swarming plague of brown and gray rodents.
This is the city of Pied Piper fame, where the famous legend, which dates to 1264, has it that in the midst of the infestation, a stranger came to town who played a magic pipe and eliminated the pests. As the story goes, the piper, when he was not properly compensated, then also rid the town of small children.
Seven centuries later, Hameln, a city of about 58,000, contains abundant reminders of its legendary Pied Piper. Rats can be purchased in such benign reincarnations as carved toys, ...