German legends

The Pied Piper of Hamelin (German: Rattenfänger von Hameln also known as the Pan Piper, the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the subject of a legend concerning the departure or death of a great number of children from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany, in the Middle Ages. The earliest references describe a piper, dressed in multicolored ("pied") clothing, leading the children away from the town never to return. In the 16th century the story was expanded into a full narrative, in which the piper is a rat-catcher hired by the town to lure rats away with his magic pipe. When the citizenry refuses to pay for this service, he retaliates by turning his power that he put in his instrument on their children, leading them away as he had the rats. This version of the story spread as folklore and has also appeared in the writings of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the Brothers Grimm and Robert Browning, among others.

Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (c.). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a crossroads, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. The Faust legend has been the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical works that have reinterpreted it through the ages. "Faust" and the adjective "Faustian" imply sacrificing spiritual values for power, knowledge, or material gain.

The Lorelei (LORR-ə-ly; German: Loreley or Lorelei, also found as Loreleï, Lore Lay, Lore-Ley, Lurley, Lurelei and Lurlei throughout history) is a 132-metre-high (433 ft), steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at Sankt Goarshausen in Germany, part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 1930s Loreley Amphitheatre is on top of the rock.

The Nazi gold train or Wałbrzych gold train is an urban legend about a train laden with gold and treasure that was hidden by the Nazis in southwest Poland during the last days of World War II. The apocryphal tale claims the train full of valuables, including artwork, was concealed in a sealed-up rail tunnel or mine in the Central Sudetes by retreating Nazis. Despite numerous searches since 1945, including by the Polish Army during the Cold War, no evidence of the train, its tracks or treasure have ever been found. Historians believe the train never existed. However, some people still believe it exists.

The Black Forest Hirschsprung (German: Schwarzwälder Hirschsprung) is a legend from the Höllental valley in the Black Forest in Germany. Over time the name has passed from the legend to a place in the valley.

Deutsche Sagen ("German Legends") is a publication by the Brothers Grimm, appearing in two volumes in 1816 and 1818. The collection includes 579 short summaries of German folk tales and legends (where "German" refers not just to German-speaking Europe generally but includes early Germanic history as well).