INA8

Leisure & Sightseeing

The fairy-tale mood that stems from an illustrious past, preserved and tangible in the historic city centre. The business-like competence and non-stop activity of a port, trading and commercial centre. The ambitious, sometimes provocative ideas that emanate from a genuine cultural centre. And finally, the serious yet serene atmosphere of a modern city whose residents know how to live.

And they know how to enjoy life. That, however, is something you'll have to experience yourself. In a town with over 1,000 pubs, cafés, restaurants, bistros and bars, hospitality is written large. Lifestyle and relations between people in Bremen are based on the principles of live-and-let-live, of freedom, tolerance and liberality.

Sightseeing highlights

1. The Market Square

Bremen's Market Square is regarded as one of the most beautiful in Europe. Its ensemble of historic buildings is unique and consists of the Town Hall, dating from 1405, St Peter's Cathedral, begun in 1042, the "Schütting", Bremen's historic Chamber of Commerce built in 1537, the merchants' houses that date back to the Weser Renaissance era around 1600, and the statue of Roland, the symbol of the city's freedom, erected in 1404. The modern "Haus der Bürgerschaft", Bremen's state parliament building, was built in 1966 and forms a sensitive counterpoint to the rest of the square.

2. Böttcherstrasse

This street is a synthesis of the arts. It was created as the perfect symbiosis of traditional and Expressionist brick architecture. The project, that took until 1934 to complete, was initiated by the Bremen coffee merchant and patron of the arts, Ludwig Roselius (Kaffee HAG) in 1904, and carried out by the architects, Scotland and Runge and the sculptor Bernhard Hoetger. This is the home of the much-admired Paula Becker-Modersohn exhibition and the Roselius Museum with its collection of items representing the heyday of Hanseatic merchant tradition. And every day at 12 noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., you can hear the chimes in the street. Figures of the most famous ocean voyagers emerge and revolve to the sound of the bells.

3. Schnoor

This is the surviving old city quarter consisting of a medieval network of winding alleys and narrow streets. Once, this part of the city was populated by river fishermen, artisans and traders. Now it is the home of exclusive shops, nostalgic pubs, restaurants and cosy cafés. A lovingly restored part of the city with a history that dates back to the 13th century. The houses that have survived were built around 1500.

4. Windmill on the "Wall"

You will find windmills in other parts of Bremen, too. Five classic windmills have survived in Bremen. The one in the Oberneuland district is open as a museum. In the inner city area, the Windmill on the Wall, which was in operation up until 1950, has been preserved. It is now the landmark of the "Wallanlagen", the old city fortifications that were torn down in 1802 and turned into a park.

5. The Town Musicians

The Brothers Grimm tell their story in a fairy tale, and Bremen has erected a monument to them: the Bremen Town Musicians, four animals who were threatened with death at home and hoped to survive in freedom in Bremen. Their sculpture, taking the form of the donkey, the dog, the cat and the rooster standing on each others' backs, stands on the West side of the Town Hall and was created by the sculptor, Gerhard Marcks in 1953. You will find other interpretations of the Town Musicians theme in Böttcherstrasse and in the Schnoor quarter.

6. Shopping in style

Markets and malls make shopping in Bremen a very special experience. Where else would you find a city-centre flower market that's open all the year round, with fish, meat, fruit and vegetables sold direct from stalls right next to it? The malls are also a joy to shop in. Lloyd Hof and Lloyd Passage, for example, Katharina and Hillmann Centre - covered shopping centres that make a stroll through the colourful world of consumer goods an unspoilt pleasure, at any time of the year, whatever the weather.

(C) 1996 Senatskanzlei (Bremen Werbung).

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Copyright © 1998, most recent revision 29. August 1998
Tania Hildebrand-Habel (hiha@micropal.uni-bremen.de)