Bremen; city of coffee, brick and “musicians”
Germany’s first ever coffee house was opened in Bremen in the 17th century!
This may be the only reason I would fall in love with Bremen, but believe me, there is much more in Bremen to fall in love with!
Exceptional “brick” architecture, long history with coffee, maritime neighbourhoods, museums, churches and cathedrals to mention but a few.
I was in Bremen for only one day but I am happy to return there very soon and collect more impressions and memories!
Now about what I have already seen!
Bremen Cathedral
I entered this stunning cathedral the moment, where a choral concert was coming to an end. The moment was breathtaking and beautiful.
St Peter’s Cathedral has 1,200 years of history. The Cathedral’s twin towers are 89 meters high with greenish roofs, which beautifully ornament the skyline.
Bremen City Hall
This arched and greenly roofed building has UNESCO World Heritage status since 2005 and one of the most beautiful city halls in Europe. It is truly impressive when you stand next to it in Bremen square and admire the beauty of the building and the surroundings.
Marktplatz
The majority of the most famous sights in Bremen are concentrated in Marktplatz. One of them is the Gothic Roland Statue from the year of 1404 depicting a mythological knight, who symbolizes Bremen’s free city status. Another one is the statue of a dog, a cat, a donkey and a rooster from the Brothers Grimm’s “Town Musicians of Bremen” fairytale. What’s more “Бременские музыканты” (Bremen Musicians) Soviet cartoon is one of my brightest childhood memories. For this reason this statue was the first place I wanted to visit when in Bremen, although could never get a perfect picture with no one else than the animals on the photo :D Bremen musicians are also the most common symbol on souvenirs from Bremen.
Böttcherstraße
This brick street has a spectacular line of buildings and courtyards in what is known as the Brick Expressionism style initiated by Bremen coffee magnate, inventor of decaf coffee Ludwig Roselius and built by the Expressionist artist Bernhard Hoetger.
Haus des Glockenspiels
This is one of the prettiest parts of the Brick neighborhood. In spring or summer between 12:00 and 18:00 every hour thirty bells made from Meissen porcelain play the tunes of old sea and folk songs. I somehow missed this scene, but definitely going to fill the gap when I am back to Bremen.
Schlachte
Schlachte is the right bank of the Weser river turned into a pedestrian zone in the 1990s. It a nice place to walk along the water, listen to Bremen street musicians, have a coffee and enjoy time passing by slowly.
Mühle am Wall
It is a new version of the windmills in this area from 1699, which was part of Bremen’s defensive walls and fortress. The new windmill is a famous touristic landmark, which also hosts a restaurant.
Bremer Bonbon Manufaktur
This is a candy factory, which makes traditional hard candies, which have Bremen’s animal musicians on the label. The impressive part of it is that you can see the person making handmade candies inside the shop.
Interesting facts about Bremen:
- It’s the greenest city in Germany and the third most bike-friendly city in Europe (after Kopenhagen and Amsterdam).
- ISS (International Space Station) has a seat in Bremen where a popular Space Centre with a simulation of space travel, the largest in Europe, is available as well. There is a large production unit of Airbus in Bremen too.
- Bremen has an interesting custom where single men on their 30th birthday have to sweep the cathedral’s steps until they are released by kisses of the girls. In the meantime other (younger and / or married) men mock him.
Read more of interesting fact here!
Thanks for reading!