Bremen (German:[ˈbʁeːmən]ⓘ), officially theFreeHanseatic City of Bremen (German:Freie Hansestadt Bremen;Low German:Free Hansestadt Bremen), is the smallest and least populous ofGermany's 16 states. It is informally calledLand Bremen ('State of Bremen'), although the term is sometimes used in official contexts. The state consists of the city ofBremen and its seaportexclave,Bremerhaven, surrounded by the larger state ofLower Saxony in northern Germany.
The state of Bremen consists of four non-contiguous territories. The two primary enclaves containBremen, officially the 'City' (Stadtgemeinde Bremen) which is the state capital, and the city ofBremerhaven (Stadt Bremerhaven). Both are located on the RiverWeser; Bremerhaven ("Bremen's harbour") is further downstream on the mouth of the Weser with open access to theNorth Sea. Both enclaves are completely surrounded by the neighbouring State ofLower Saxony (Niedersachsen). Of the two smaller non-contiguous territories of the state of Bremen, the first is an exclave of Bremerhaven north east of the city and part of the Fehrmoor Ortsteil (which is part of the largerLeherheide Neighborhood). The second is a tiny exclave of the City of Bremen on its north side, centered on Opitzstrasse and comprising only about 4.3 hectares.[5] Like the two primary territories of the State of Bremen, these two smaller territories are completely surrounded by the neighbouring State of Lower Saxony. In addition, an exclave of the City of Bremen, known as "Citybremian Overseas Port Area Bremerhaven" (Stadtbremisches Überseehafengebiet Bremerhaven[6]), lies entirely within the City of Bremerhaven. The highest point in the state is inFriedehorst Park (32.5 metres; 107 ft).
The territory of Bremen in the 14th and 18th centuriesThe territory of Bremen since 1800
When theHoly Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806, what had been since 1646 (after earlier privileges of autonomy of 1186) theFree Imperial City of Bremen was notmediatised. Rather than being incorporated into the enlarged territory of one of the surrounding monarchies, it was recognised (along withHamburg) as a sovereignFree Hanseatic City. Its currency until 1873 was theBremen thaler.
In 1827, Bremen bought land at the mouth of the Weser from theKingdom of Hanover, in order to build a new seaport,Bremerhaven. This ensured that Bremen remained Germany's main port of embarkation for emigrants to the Americas, and that it developed as an entrepôt for Germany's late developing colonial trade.
Following the heavily compromised national elections of March 1933, the Nazis still achieved only a third of the popular vote in Bremen (32.7%).[8] Bremen, like all the German states, then underwent the process ofGleichschaltung (coordination) whereby the Nazi regime, through a campaign of violent demonstrations and intimidation, first forced the resignation of the executive Senate and later dissolved theBürgerschaft. Bremen remained for the next twelve years under the direct authority of aReichsstatthalter (Reich Governor) who simultaneously held the post of Nazi PartyGauleiter ofGau Weser-Ems. During these years, Bremen's small Jewish community (1,438 people registered at the beginning of 1933)[10] was destroyed through coerced emigration anddeportation to death camps in the occupied east.
Allied bombing during World War II destroyed or severely damaged 60% of the city's built fabric, including much of its historic centre. Following a further bombardment, British troops entered Bremen in late April 1945. Transferred to the Americans, Bremen became the supply port for the USzones of occupation inwest Berlin and southern Germany.
The city was reestablished as a state in 1947 and, from 1949, was again known as theFree Hanseatic City of Bremen, becoming a Land or state of the newFederal Republic of Germany, informally referred to as "West Germany" until 1990.
The legislature of the state of Bremen is the 87-memberBürgerschaft (citizens' assembly), elected by the citizens in the two cities ofBremen andBremerhaven.
The executive is constituted by theSenate of Bremen, elected by the Bürgerschaft. The Senate is chaired by the President of the senate (Senatspräsident), who is also one of themayors of the city of Bremen (Bürgermeister) and is elected directly by the Bürgerschaft. The Senate selects one of its members as a second mayor who serves as deputy of the president. In contrast to the Federal Chancellor of Germany or other German states, the President of the Senate has no authority to override senators on policy, which is decided upon by the senate collectively. Since 1945, the Senate has continuously been dominated by theSocial Democratic Party.
On a municipal level, the two cities in the state are administered separately:
The administration of thecity of Bremen is headed by the two mayors and controlled by the portion of theBürgerschaft elected in the city of Bremen (72 members).
Bremerhaven, on the other hand, has a municipal assembly distinct from the state legislature and an administration under a distinct head mayor (Oberbürgermeister) and a distinct second mayor.
In post-war Bremen, the port, shipyards and related industries sustained a large and unionised working class. As before 1933, this translated into support for the Social Democrats, considered Bremen's natural governing party. However, in the 1980s mechanisation 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.[12] The once dominant left-liberal vote split, and coalition government became the norm.
Some of the city's heavier industries failed to recover from the1973 oil-price-shock recession. Specialist construction yards, ship outfitters and parts suppliers remain, butAG Weser (which employed 16,000 workers at its peak) andBremer Vulkan, Bremen's major shipbuilders, closed in 1983 and 1997 respectively. Further job losses were caused by the restructuring andincreasing mechanization of harbour-related activities and otherindustrial sectors. Semi and unskilled harbour workers found it very difficult to re-enter the labour market, andunemployment—for a period in the 1980s almost double the West German average—remained comparatively high.
At a time when structural change in the economy has forced Bremen to spend more on social services,suburbanization has reduced population and tax revenue, namely due to1969 federal tax reform—before that, income taxes would be collected by themunicipality of the workplace, but after that, by the municipality of the residency. Incorporating surrounding suburban municipalities is not an option for the state of Bremen, as these already belong to the state ofLower Saxony.[18]
With financial assistance from theEuropean Union and theFederal Government of Germany, economic policy has focused on supporting those established economic sectors that are based on advanced technology, such as aerospace and aircraft production, automobile production, maritime and logistics services, and on developing the education and business-park infrastructure for new science-based and digital enterprises. In this an important role is accorded to the growing university sector. Further investment went into the revitalisation of the city centre but a culture-driven regeneration around entertainment and tourism was not very successful. Several experts described Bremen's service sector as underdeveloped, due to a lack of major company headquarters.[18]
Shipbuilding representedLürssen Bremen features the full spectrum of construction, production and assembly facilities for superyachts greater than 100 in length (1,200 employees).
Food manufacturing of coffee (Kraft, Jacobs, Melitta, Eduscho, Azul), chocolate (Hachez), beer (Beck's Brewery), cereal food (Kellogg's), fish (Frosta, Frozen Fish, Deutsche See), dairy products (DMK Deutsches Milchkontor), pet food (Vitacraft)
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