GBB-F-005979-0000 1895 ca, HAMELN, Lower Saxony, GERMANY : The Rattenfangerhaus. Photocrom. The Pied Piper of Hamelin (Rattenfänger von Hameln also known as the Pan Piper, the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the subject of a legend from the town of Hamelin, Lower Saxony, Germany, in the Middle Ages. The earliest references describe a piper, dressed in multicolored ("pied") clothing, who was a rat-catcher hired by the town to lure rats away with his magic pipe. When the citizens refuse to pay for this service, he retaliates by using his instrument's magic power on their children, leading them away as he had the rats. This version of the story spread as folklore and has appeared in the writings of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the Brothers Grimm, and Robert Browning, among others. The earliest known record of this story is from the town of Hamelin itself, depicted in a stained glass window created for the church of Hamelin, which dates to around AD 1300. Although it was destroyed in 1660, several written accounts have survived. Credit: © ARCHIVIO GBB / Archivi Alinari WARNING: Permission must be required for non editorial use. Please contact Alinari Archives Collection: © ARCHIVIO GBB / Archivi Alinari Object type: digital image Photographic technique: P digital image Technical info Image sizes (pixel): 4546 X 6154 Image sizes (cm at 300 dpi): 38 X 52 Image sizes (MB): 10.04 Color space: RGB