Bremen is the largest city on theRiver Weser, the longest river flowing entirely in Germany, lying some 60 km (37 mi) upstream from itsmouth into theNorth Sea atBremerhaven, and is completely surrounded by the state ofLower Saxony. Bremen is the centre of theNorthwest Metropolitan Region, which also includes the cities ofOldenburg and Bremerhaven, and has a population of around 2.8 million people. Bremen is contiguous with the Lower Saxon towns ofDelmenhorst,Stuhr,Achim,Weyhe,Schwanewede andLilienthal. There is anexclave of Bremen in Bremerhaven, the "Citybremian Overseas Port Area Bremerhaven" (Stadtbremisches Überseehafengebiet Bremerhaven). Bremen is the third-largest city in theLow German dialect area after Hamburg andDortmund.
The city traces its origins to a settlement in the earlyMiddle Ages and became the seat of abishopric in 787. During theHigh Middle Ages, Bremen grew into a flourishing trading center and joined theHanseatic League in the 13th century, establishing commercial links acrossNorthern Europe. Its autonomy as afree imperial city was recognised within theHoly Roman Empire, and despite periods of conflict, Bremen retained a strong civic identity. In later centuries, the city developed into a key hub for shipping and overseas trade, contributing to Germany’smaritime economy.
In 1871, Bremen was drawn byPrussia into theGerman Empire. With its new sea anchorage and wharves at Bremerhaven, it was the principal port of embarkation for German and central European emigrants to the Americas, and anentrepôt for Germany's late developing colonial trade. TheNorddeutscher Lloyd (NDL), founded in Bremen in 1857, became one of the world's leading shipping companies.
View from theStephanibrücke towards the city centre and cathedral
Bremen lies on both sides of theRiver Weser, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) upstream of its estuary on theNorth Sea and its transition to the Outer Weser by Bremerhaven. Opposite Bremen'sAltstadt is the point where the "Middle Weser" becomes the "Lower Weser" and, from the area of Bremen's port, the river has been made navigable to ocean-going vessels. The region on the left bank of the Lower Weser, through which theOchtum flows, is the Weser Marshes, the landscape on its right bank is part of theElbe-Weser Triangle. TheLesum, and its tributaries, theWümme andHamme, theSchönebecker Aue andBlumenthaler Aue, are the downstream tributaries of the Weser.
The city's municipal area is about 38 kilometres (24 miles) long and 16 kilometres (10 miles) wide. In terms of area, Bremen is the eleventh largest city in Germany; and in terms of population the second largest city in northwest Germany after Hamburg and the eleventh largest in the whole of Germany(see:List of cities in Germany).[contradictory]
Bremen lies about 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of the city ofOldenburg, 110 kilometres (68 miles) southwest ofHamburg, 120 kilometres (75 miles) northwest ofHanover, 100 kilometres (62 miles) north ofMinden and 105 kilometres (65 miles) northeast ofOsnabrück. Part ofBremerhaven's port territory forms anexclave of the City of Bremen.
The inner city lies on a Weser dune, which reaches a natural height of 10.5 metres (34 feet, 6 inches) above sea level atBremen Cathedral; its highest point, though, is 14.4 metres (47 feet, 3 inches) above sea level and lies to the east at thePolizeihaus,Am Wall 196. The highest natural feature in the city of Bremen is 32.5 metres (107 feet) above sea level and lies inFriedehorst Park in the northwestern borough of Burglesum.[6]: 25 As a result, Bremen has the lowesthigh point of all the German states.[7]
Bremen has a moderateoceanic climate (Köppen climate classificationCfb) due to its proximity to the North Sea coast and temperate maritime air masses that move in with the predominantly westerly winds from the Atlantic Ocean. However, periods in which continental air masses predominate may occur at any time of the year and can lead to heat waves in the summer and prolonged periods of frost in the winter. In general though, extremes are rare in Bremen and temperatures below −15 °C (5.0 °F) and above 35 °C (95.0 °F) occur only once every couple of years. The record high temperature was 37.6 °C (99.7 °F) on 9 August 1992, while the official record low temperature was −23.6 °C (−10.5 °F) on 13 February 1940. On 13 October 2018, Bremen recorded its warmest October day on record with 28.6 °C (83.4 °F).[8] However, the astronomerHeinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers reported to have measured −27.3 °C on 23 January 1823.[9] Being at some distance from the main North Sea, Bremen still has a somewhat wider temperature range thanBremerhaven that is located on the mouth of Weser.
Average temperatures have risen continually over the last decades, leading to a 0.6 °C (1.1 °F) rise in the mean annual temperature between 1961–90 and 1981–2010 reference periods. As in most parts of Germany, the year 2014 has been the warmest year on record averaging 11.1 °C (52.0 °F), making Bremen the second-warmest German state after Berlin in 2014.[10] While Bremen is located in the comparatively cloudy northwestern part of Germany, there has been a significant increase in average sunshine hours over the last decades, especially in the months of April, May, and July, causing the annual mean to rise by 121 hours between the reference periods of 1961–90 and 1991–2020.[11] This trend has continued over the last 10 years (2011–2020), which average 1680 hours of sunshine, almost 200 hours more than in the international reference period of 1961–90.[12] Nevertheless, especially the winters remain extremely gloomy by international standards with December averaging hardly more than one hour of sunshine (out of 7 astronomically possible) per day, a feature that Bremen shares with most of Germany and its neighbouring countries, though.
Precipitation is distributed fairly even around the year with a small peak in summer mainly due to convective precipitation, i.e. showers and thunderstorms. Snowfall and the period of snow cover are variable; whereas in some years, hardly any snow accumulation occurs, there has recently been a series of unusually snowy winters, peaking in the record year 2010 counting 84 days with a snow cover.[13] Nevertheless, snow accumulation of more than 20 centimetres (8 in) remains exceptional, the record being 68 centimetres (26.8 in) of snow on 18 February 1979.
The warmest months in Bremen are June, July, and August, with average high temperatures of 20.2 to 22.6 °C (68.4 to 72.7 °F). The coldest are December, January, and February, with average low temperatures of −1.1 to 0.3 °C (30.0 to 32.5 °F). Typical of its maritime location, autumn tends to remain mild well into October, while spring arrives later than in the southwestern parts of the country.
Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions.
Bremen's economy boomed in line with the West GermanWirtschaftswunder of the 1950s and 60s. This saw the growth, and permanent settlement, of a largemigrant worker population, drawn largely fromTurkey and southern Europe. A new wave immigration occurred after the turn of new century, following the entry ofPoland,Bulgaria and other formerEast Bloc countries into theEuropean Union, and after 2015 with the settlement ofrefugees from Syria and other war-torn regions. Today Bremen has a population of 567,000 and is the 11th largest city in Germany and 5th largest city by area with area of 318.21 km2 (122.86 sq mi), which makes this city area bigger thanMunich.
By the second decade of the century out of a population (includingBremerhaven) of approximately 680,000, over 115,000 had foreign citizenship,[6][18] and nearly twice that number, almost a third of the total population, could be classified as having non-German origin/ethnicity.[19]
Number of minorities in Bremen by nationality as of 31 December 2024:[20]
The recent influx has somewhat moderated the tendency toward an accelerated ageing of the population. As it is, more than half the population of the state of Bremen are over 40, and more than a quarter are over 60.[21]
TheStadtbürgerschaft (municipal assembly) is currently made up of 72 of the 87 legislators of the state legislature, theBremische Bürgerschaft who reside in the city of Bremen. The legislature is elected by the citizens of Bremen every four years.
Bremen has a reputation as aleft-wing city. The port, shipyards and related industries sustained a large and unionised working class. This translated into support for theSocial Democrats, considered Bremen's natural governing party. However, in the 1980smechanization of the port and closure of the city's leading shipbuilder induced an employment crisis and shook the confidence of the party's traditional voter base. The SPD, which had still polled 51% in 1987, lost its effective majority. The once dominant left-liberal vote split, and coalition government became the norm.[22] The state today is governed by a coalition of the Social Democratic Party,The Greens andThe Left.
In November 2019 the right-wing group Phalanx 18 was banned by the city-state of Bremen.[23]
View from the Stephani-Bridge in the direction of the CathedralSchlachteBaumwollbörse (Cotton exchange)The Parkhotel in theBürgerpark (central park)
Many of the sights in Bremen are found in theAltstadt (Old Town), an oval area surrounded by theWeser River, on the southwest, and theWallgraben, the former moats of the medieval city walls, on the northeast. The oldest part of the Altstadt is the southeast half, starting with theMarktplatz and ending at theSchnoor quarter.
Two statues stand to the west side of the Town Hall: one is the statueBremen Roland (1404) of the city's protector,Roland, with his view against theCathedral and bearing Durendart, the "sword of justice" and a shield decorated with animperial eagle. The other near the entrance to theRatskeller isGerhard Marcks'bronze sculpture (1953)Die Stadtmusikanten (Town Musicians), which portrays the donkey, dog, cat and rooster of theGrimm Brothers' fairy tale.
Other interesting buildings in the vicinity of the Marktplatz are theSchütting, a sixteenth-century Flemish-inspired guild hall,Rathscafé,Raths-Apotheke,Haus der Stadtsparkasse and theStadtwaage, the formerweigh house (built in 1588), with an ornate Renaissance façade, and the nearbyEssighaus, once a fine Renaissance town house. The façades and houses surrounding the market square were the first buildings in Bremen to be restored afterWorld War II, by the citizens of Bremen themselves.
St Peter'sCathedral (13th century), to the east of the Marktplatz, with sculptures ofMoses andDavid,Peter andPaul and Charlemagne. TheBismarck Monument is also outside the cathedral, which is the only monument in Germany to depict Otto von Bismarck in an equestrian format.
On Katherinenklosterhof to the northwest of the cathedral, a few remaining traces can be found ofSt. Catherine's Monastery, Bremen dating back to the thirteenth century.
TheLiebfrauenkirche (Our Lady's Church) is the oldest church of the town (11th century). Its crypt features several impressive murals from the fourteenth century.
Off the south side of the Markplatz, the 110 m (120 yd)Böttcherstraße was transformed in 1923–1931 by the coffee magnateLudwig Roselius, who commissioned local artists to convert the narrow street (in medieval times, the street of the barrel makers) into an inspired mixture ofGothic andArt Nouveau. It was considered "entartete Kunst" (degenerate art) by the Nazis. Today, the street is one of Bremen's most popular attractions, with theGlockenspiel House at No. 4 with itscarillon ofMeissen porcelain bells.[25]
At the end of Böttcherstraße, by the Weser bank, stands theMartinikirche (St Martin's Church), a Gothic brick church built in 1229, and rebuilt in 1960 after its destruction in World War II.[26]
Tucked away between the Cathedral and the river is theSchnoor, a small, well-preserved area of crooked lanes, fishermen's and shipper's houses from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, now occupied by cafés, artisan shops andart galleries. TheConvent of Saint Birgitta (Birgittenkloster) founded in 2002 is a small community of just seven nuns offering guest accommodation.[27]
Schlachte, the medievalharbour of Bremen (the modern port is some kilometres downstream) is today a riverside boulevard with pubs and bars aligned on one side and the banks of Weser on the other.[28]
TheViertel district to the east of the old town combines rows of nineteenth-century Bremen houses (Bremer Häuser) with museums and the theatres ofTheater Bremen along the city's cultural mile (Kulturmeile (Bremen) [de]).[29]
Knoops Park which is one of the larger green spaces in the city that many locals love to visit especially when the weather is warmer. There is also an option to rent smallrowboats in the middle of the park.
TheNasir Moschee is the first purpose built mosque of theAhmadiyya Muslim Community in Bremen.[30]
According to data from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, Bremen had a GDP per capita of $53,379 in 2013, higher than the average for Germany as a whole. For comparison, in 2013, the World Bank reported Germany had a GDP per capita of $46,268, and the EU overall had a GDP per capita of $35,408 in the same year.[34]
Bremen is the second development centre of the region, afterHamburg. It forms part of the production network ofAirbus SAS and this is where equipping of the wing units for all widebody Airbus aircraft and the manufacture of small sheet metal parts takes place. Structural assembly, including that of metal landing flaps, is another focal point. Within the framework ofAirbus A380 production, assembly of the landing flaps (high lift systems) is carried out here. The pre-final assembly of the fuselage section (excluding the cockpit) of theA400M military transport aircraft takes place before delivery on to Spain.[35]
MZH building, campus of the University of Bremen
More than 3,100 persons are employed at Airbus Bremen, the second largest Airbus site in Germany. As part of the Centre of Excellence – Wing/Pylon, Bremen is responsible for the design and manufacture of high-lift systems for the wings of Airbus aircraft. The entire process chain for the high-lift elements is established here, including the project office, technology engineering, flight physics, system engineering, structure development, verification tests, structural assembly, wing equipping and ultimate delivery to the final assembly line. In addition, Bremen manufactures sheet metal parts like clips and thrust crests for all Airbus aircraft as part of the Centre of Excellence – Fuselage and Cabin.[36]
In Bremen there is a plant ofEADS Astrium and the headquarters ofOHB-System, respectively the first and the third space companies of European Union.
Beck & Co's headlining brew Beck's andSt Pauli Girl beers are brewed in Bremen. In past centuries when Bremen's port was the "key to Europe", the city also had a large number of wine importers, but the number is down to a precious few. Apart from that there is another link between Bremen and wine: about 800 years ago, quality wines were produced here. Bremen is not the place where the largestwine cellar in the world is located although it was once said to hold over 1 million bottles, but during WWII was raided by occupying forces.
A large number of food producing or trading companies are located in Bremen with their German or European headquarters:Anheuser-Busch InBev (Beck's Brewery),Kellogg's,Kraft Foods (Kraft, Jacobs Coffee, Milka Chocolate, Milram, Miràcoli), Frosta (frosted food), Nordsee (chain of sea fast food),Melitta Kaffee, Eduscho Kaffee, Azul Kaffee, Vitakraft (pet articles and food for cats, dogs, birds, fish, rodents and other pets), Atlanta AG (Chiquita banana), chocolatierHachez (fine chocolate and confiserie), feodora chocolatier.
Bremer Woll-Kämmerei (BWK), a worldwide operating company for manufacturing wool and trading in wool and similar products, is headquartered in Bremen.Gleistein is a German cordage factory with head office in Bremen.
Every year since 1036, in the last two weeks of October, Bremen has hosted theFreimarkt ("Free market"), one of the world's oldest and in Germany one of today's biggest continuously celebrated fairground festivals.
Bremen is host to one of the four big annualTechno parades, theVision Parade.
Bremen is also host of the "Bremer 6 Tage Rennen" a bicycle race at the Bremen Arena.
Every year the city plays host to young musicians from across the world, playing in the International Youth Symphony Orchestra of Bremen (IYSOB).
On March 12, 1999, the rock bandKiss played a live show in Bremen. Before the show, they were told by the fire marshall not to use any fireworks. They did not use any fireworks until the very end, when they set off all of the fireworks at once. Because of this, they are now banned from playing in Bremen.
Bremen is home to thefootball teamWerder Bremen, who won theGerman Football Championship for the fourth time and the German Football Cup for the fifth time in 2004, making them only the fourth team in German football history to win the double; the club won the German Football Cup for the sixth time in 2009. The home stadium of SV Werder Bremen is theWeserstadion, a pure football stadium, almost completely surrounded by solar cells. It is one of the biggest buildings in Europe delivering renewable energy.
In December 1949, Bremen hosted the lecture cycleEinblick in das, was ist by the philosopherMartin Heidegger, in which Heidegger introduced his concept of a "fourfold" of earth and sky, gods and mortals. This was also Heidegger's first public-speaking engagement following his removal from hisFreiburg professorship by theDenazification authorities.
The 1922 filmNosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens was set mostly in Bremen.
In July 2022,Yorushika released a song titledBremen.
The UK Comedy podcast "Three Bean Salad" have great affection for Bremen, and regularly listeners to their podcast will claim to be from Bremen, and they have postulated potential world tours including Bremen.
^100 schräge Fakten über diese Stadt. In:Zitty 16/2012, p. 15.
^"Wetterrekorde" (in German). Wetterdienst.de.Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved2016-02-10.
^-21,8 °Ré reports Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers in a letter toCarl Friedrich Gauss from 6 February 1823, printed in: Carl Friedrich Gauß, Briefwechsel mit H.W.M. Olbers, Georg Olms Verlag, 1860 S. 233 (Bremen, p. 233, atGoogle Books).
^Wolfgang Feist (2007-05-27)."Passivhaus-Schulgebäude" [Passive house school building] (in German). Passive House Institute. Archived fromthe original on 2007-08-27. Retrieved2007-05-30.
Tristam Carrington-Windo, Katrin M. Kohl (1998).A Dictionary of Contemporary Germany. Routledge (UK). p. page 64.ISBN1-57958-114-5.[dead link]
Claus Christian (2007):A photographic excursion through Bremen, Bremen-North, Bremerhaven, Fischerhude and Worpswede,ISBN978-3-00-015451-5
Dannenberg, Hans-Eckhard; Schulze, Heinz-Joachim (1995).Geschichte des Landes zwischen Elbe und Weser vol. 1 Vor- und Frühgeschichte. Stade: Landschaftsverband der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden.ISBN978-3-9801919-7-5.
Dannenberg, Hans-Eckhard; Schulze, Heinz-Joachim (1995).Geschichte des Landes zwischen Elbe und Weser vol. 2 Mittelalter (einschl. Kunstgeschichte). Stade: Landschaftsverband der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden.ISBN978-3-9801919-8-2.
Dannenberg, Hans-Eckhard; Schulze, Heinz-Joachim (2008).Geschichte des Landes zwischen Elbe und Weser vol. 3 Neuzeit. Stade: Landschaftsverband der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden.ISBN978-3-9801919-9-9.
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