Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [585]
Moneymaker (Bahnhof; per hr €3; 24hr) Internet access in the northern end of the main train station.
Police ( 3621; Am Wall 201)
Post office (Domsheide 15; 8am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat)
Post office (Bahnhofplatz 21; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat)
Schnell & Sauber (Vor dem Steintor 105; per wash €4.30; 6am-11pm) Laundry, just east of centre.
Tourist-Info Bremen ( 01805-101 030; www.bremen-tourism.de) City (Obernstrasse/Liebfrauenkirchhof; 10am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat & Sun) Hauptbahnhof (Hauptbahnhof; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-6pm Sat & Sun)
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DANGERS & ANNOYANCES
Bremen is a safe town to walk around day or night, but the teenage club mile of Rembertiring, near the main train station, has been a problem zone in recent years. Video cameras, a strong police presence and a ban on carrying ‘dangerous objects’ in this vicinity – meaning knives, baseball bats, handguns and the like, as yellow signs make graphically clear – point to its potential for sudden violence. Use big-city sense here.
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SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES
Markt
With high, historic buildings looming over a relatively small space, Bremen’s Markt is one of the most remarkable in northern Germany. The two towers of the 1200-year-old Dom St Petri (St Petri Cathedral; 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat, 2-5pm Sun), see also right, dominate the northeastern edge, beside the ornate and imposing Rathaus (town hall). Although the Rathaus was first erected in 1410, the Weser Renaissance balcony in the middle, crowned by three gables, was added between 1595 and 1618.
Bremers boast that the 13m-high Knight Roland statue (1404) in front of the Rathaus is Germany’s tallest representation of this just, freedom-loving knight, and his belt buckle is certainly in an interesting position. However, it’s the statue tucked away on the Rathaus’ western side, in front of the Kirche Unser Lieben Frauen (Church of our Beloved Lady) that people more readily identify with this city. Sculptor Gerhard Marcks has cast the Town Musicians of Bremen (1951) in their famous pose – one on top of the other, on the shoulders of the donkey (see the boxed text below). The donkey’s nose and front legs are incredibly shiny after being touched by visitors for good luck.
The one obviously modern building on the Markt is the Haus der Bürgerschaft (State Assembly; 1966), whose geometrical steel-and-concrete structure features artfully moulded pieces of metal attached to its facade, suggesting a Gothic style that blends in with the other architecture of the historic square.
CATHEDRAL CELLAR
What’s most unusual about Dom St Petri is what lies beneath. In the incredibly dry air of its Bleikeller (Lead Cellar; 365 0441; adult/concession €1.40/1; 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat, noon-5pm Sun Easter-Oct) corpses mummify, and you can still spy eight preserved bodies in open coffins here. The figures include a Swedish countess, a soldier with his mouth opened in a silent scream, and a student who died in a duel in 1705. The Bleikeller has its own entrance, to the south of the main door. The 265 steps to the top of the cathedral’s tower (adult/child €1/0.70; 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat, 2-5pm Sun Easter-Oct) can also be climbed.
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Böttcherstrasse
If Bremen’s Markt is striking, the nearby Böttcherstrasse (1931) is unique. A charming lane with a golden entrance and staggered red-brick walls as you approach from Markt, it’s a superb example of expressionism.
This 110m-long street was commissioned in 1931 by Ludwig Roselius, a merchant who made his fortune by inventing decaffeinated coffee and founding the company Hag in the early 20th century. Most of the street’s design was by Bernhard Hoetger (1874–1959), including the Lichtbringer (Bringer of Light), the golden relief at the northern entrance, showing a scene from the Apocalypse with the Archangel Michael fighting a dragon.
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THE FANTASTIC FOUR
In the Brothers Grimm fairy