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Historic Market Place
The Market Square has been watching over city centre life for centuries, rating with the most elegant in Germany. The place centres round the Hanseatic Cross commemorating Hanseatic citizens who took part in the War of Liberation. Turning full circle reveals the sandstone statue of Knight Roland in front of the Rathaus. To the right lies the imposing St Petri Cathedral and along the eastern end is Bremen’s modern State Parliament building. The southern end is dominated by the Schütting.
Rathaus
Built between 1405 and 1410, the town hall is a prime example of a distinct North German Gothic architecture. Its facade is one of the most remarkable in Europe and was designed in an opulent Weser Renaissance style by Lüder von Bentheim as part of a rebuilding process that took over 200 years to complete. Inside, the splendid Upper Hall is mainly reserved for official functions and receptions. The interior boasts a number of integrated banqueting rooms comprising Güldenkammer, Festsaal, Kaminsaal, Gobelinzimmer and Senatssaal. The latter room accommodates meetings of the Senate, Bremen’s State Government.
Bremen Town Musicians
The city’s most popular representation of the Town Musicians is a bronze statue of 1951 by local sculptor Gerhard Marcks. The group has since been received to international acclaim and is located round the western side of the Rathaus.
Böttcherstrasse
The 110 metre pedestrian walkway, at one time inhabited by the town’s coopers and barrel makers, stretches from Market Square to the River Weser. The city’s ‘secret high street’ is full of interesting contrasts offering a mixture of traditional red brick and more recent expressionist architecture. The alleyway was transformed between 1923 and 1931 by local merchant Ludwig Roselius (inventor of decaffeinated coffee). The gilt Bringer of Light relief over the entrance to Market Square was forged by artist Bernhard Hoetger. In addition to tiny stores, crafts workshops and Bremen Casino, the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum, Roselius Haus Museum and a fine carillon make rewarding sights.
Schnoor Quarter
Rather like a thread of beads, little gabled houses from the 15th and 16th centuries huddle together along narrow, crooked lanes in Bremen’s oldest living quarter. Artisans, goldsmiths and gallery owners now occupy many houses in rambling lanes and tiny backyards, vying for space with small cafes and restaurants that cater for most tastes. Other buildings house the Theatre in Schnoor, Madame Lothár’s variety theatre, a wedding house that’s arguably the world’s smallest hotel, a toy museum and the Institute for Low German Language.
Schlachte River Promenade
Bremen’s regenerated waterfront is a meeting place for people and home to a number of historic and modern vessels with daily departures. Numerous restaurants, cafes and beer and summer gardens are open daily from 11am to midnight (April-September) and seat over 2,000 people. The Kajenmarkt sells bargain antiques every Saturday 10am-3pm (late April-late September).
Universum Science Centre Bremen
Come, marvel, discover best sums up the attractions that the 21st century science centre uses to great effect to open a world of hands-on discovery and surprise. Visitors can turn explorer in 4,000 sq m, looking into three amazing expeditions, which bring earth, man and cosmos to life. Over 250 visuals, interactive and simulations have been designed for new ways of looking at the universe.
Botanika. The Green Science Centre
In over 4,000 sq m, botanika opens inspired ideas of bewilderingly rich shrubs, colours, smells and sounds indigenous to different parts of Asia. While the Discovery Centre encourages visitor participation with films and the best of hands-on activities, various landscape sceneries are housed in two large greenhouses, following a stunning trail through the recreated habitats of the Himalayas, Borneo and Japan, complete with rocky outcrops and cascading waterfall as live evidence to the Asian cultures involved.
Übersee Museum Bremen
A number of connected galleries on nature, culture and trade combine with a journey of discovery around the globe. A one-stop destination with engaging insights into overseas cultures and habitats, the museum encourages visitor participation on the diversity of life. A redesigned exhibition area on Oceania is extended to include displays on Asia.
Kunsthalle Bremen
The city’s principal art museum exhibits a collection of painting and sculpture spanning from the 15th century to the present day, with works by Delacroix, Liebermann, Corinth, Modersohn-Becker and Beckmann, among others. With some 220,000 sheets, the graphics gallery contains one of the largest collections in Europe, featuring mostly German and French drawings and prints from the 19th century.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
