Hameln

Hameln

Last week as part of leading a tour through the Harz for the excellent Hinckley Social Theatre and Travel Club from the UK we visited the beautiful town of Hameln by the Weser River.

I think we have all heard of the story of the Pipe Piper which was made famous by writers such as the brothers Grimm and Goethe. As with many legendary tales and myths there are always some truth behind the fairy tales.

The pipe Piper as we know him today is based on a legend concerning the disappearance of 130 children from the town of Hameln in 1284. The detail of the rats was added 400 years later by the brothers Grimm and did not play apart in the original legend.

There are many theories to what could have happened, such as a plague that killed the children, although no mass grave site is known. The original legend shows the children being led out of the town. Some people think that this was part of the Children’s Crusade designed to convert Muslims to Christianity by Nicholas of Cologne. 

Other versions say that the piper led the children to the top of Koppelberg Hill and had his wicked way with them, or that the legend is not about children at all, and just refers to the mass migration to Transylvania. 

The oldest surviving written account, the Lueneburg manuscript (1440 – 50) says this:

Anno 1284 am Tag Johannis et Pauli
war der 26. juni
Dorch einen piper mit allerlei farve bekledet
gewesen CXXX kinder verledet binnen Hamelen gebo[re]n
to calvarie bi den koppen verloren

In the year of 1284, on the day of Saints John and Paul
on June 26
By a piper, clothed in many kinds of colours,
130 children born in Hameln were seduced,
and lost at the place of execution near the koppen.

What the truth really is I don’t think we will ever know, but a visit to Hamelin is highly recommended. 

Just remember to keep an eye on your kids!

Goslar Costume Parade

On Sunday I visited the costume parade through the narrow streets of Goslar. This was one of the highlights of the three day Lower Saxony Celebration. With 144 clubs and associations taking part and over 3,000 participants it was an impressive parade taking over one hour to pass by.

Costumes were an expression of rural life and helped to display a number of social and economic factors.

•  the region where the wearer comes
• the village where the wearer comes
• the social position within the community
• civil status (single, married, widowed, widowed and interested in marriage)
• the grief level (full, half, quarter sadness, joy time)
• the reason (supper, church, wedding, communion, confirmation, etc.) 

Harzer Wandernadel – Ruine Ebers Castle

Harzer Wandernadel – Ruine Ebers Castle

Another weekend, another stamp and another ruin castle.

Again in our quest to each 50 hiking stamps this year before the colder weather sets in, we hiked this weekend to the ruin castle Ebers near the city of Nordhausen. This castle was originally built in 1180 – 1191 for the Thuringia landowner Hermann I (Hermann of Thuringia). It became an outpost and was used by various counts over the centuries. The last family to live in the castle died in 1582.

The hike itself was pleasant and apart from the fact that we took the wrong trail and walked up the wrong hill it was a nice day out. We had enough energy left to continue on to another stamp (Stamp 198 – Glockenstein) some 5 kilometers away. The walk was through beautiful rolling countryside. It reminded me that although most people head straight to the Upper Harz and the National Park, there is a lot of unspoilt beauty to discover in the Harz foothills. 

Harzer Wandernadel – Achtermannshöhe

Harzer Wandernadel – Achtermannshöhe

Today my younger son and I went out into the Harz National Park to collect two more stamps for the Harzer Wandernadel. We are trying to collect 50 stamps this year to achieve the Harzer Wander King badge. For more details about the Harzer Wandernadel please look at earlier blogs.

The walk up to Achtermannshöhe was actually really nice but very windy. The Achtermannshöhe is a rocky peak some 925 meters above sea level. The summit is well above the treetops so provides good views across the Upper Harz. Directly opposite are the Brocken and the Wurmberg Braunlage.

After a short rest we took off for a small walk through the National Park before heading to collect one more stamp. The images below are from the trail we took across the National Park.

Hannah’s first day at school

The last few weeks have been busy with the school holidays and more important preparing for my daughters first day at school. We moved to Germany a few years ago and my older children did not have the opportunity to experience this traditional start to a young person’s education.  

Dating back more than 200 years, the tradition of the Shultuten or “school cone” is one of the most celebrated and long-standing traditions in Germany.  The custom dates back to 1810 when parents in the Eastern part of Germany gave their children little sweets and gifts at the beginning of their school year. 

The tradition grew, as did the size of the Schultüte, and today parents, grandparents will go to great lengths to make the ‘First Day’ of school as memorable as possible. A very different way to how I remember my first day in school in the UK; (clinging onto the school gates as my mother desperately tried to drag me into school). 

A German child's very first day of school, known as Einschulung in German, is a landmark in their lives, and honoured throughout Germany as a special occasion.   

After a formal introduction to their teacher and future classroom they are returned to their parents were they are presented with their cones.

I think the pictures say it all :)