Bremen Entertainment

Cologne launches itself into Carnival, while Munich reveres its Oktoberfest. Meanwhile, Bremen is a city of celebration. There is always something going on here.

Nightlife

A definite must for Bremen nightlife is the Schlachte, a 12 bar, club and restaurant establishment at the Weser riverfront. During summertime, it’s a giant beer garden for thousands of people. In the wintertime, the crowd goes inside to drink, dance and party. The Modernes is a favorite dance club in Bremen, especially on Saturdays, when it gets really crowded. The club, which is also used as a concert hall, has a roof that can be opened.

Falstaff is also a very good location on a Friday night for drinking and dancing, whilst during the week it is a normal café. The Modernes is an ex-cinema with a retractable roof, which can be opened on clear and starry nights. The average night is disco with pop and chart music and very often there are live concerts and special event parties.

Moments is a night bar and disco in the heart of the Viertel, where you can party on until the early morning, even on weekdays, or relax at the bar on one of the jazz evenings with live music or dance to latin or disco music from the DJ, depending on which night you go there. Rosige Zeiten is probably the craziest house club in Bremen. Take the escalator and go into the magic world of roses, red velvet and techno music. 

If you have had your share but feel like having more, stagger down into the basement of Stubu Musikkeller and keep going with mainstream pop music. During the week, this is the last resort for drinking and dancing until the early hours.

Waiting for the night owls are high-decibel discos and cosy little bars. The younger generation congregates in the ‘Viertel’ and when lights slowly dim in the city centre, things are just getting going in the many pubs around Ostertorsteinweg, with the party continuing until the crack of dawn. For jazz, there’s always a popular combo jamming at the Bremer Jazz Club.

Theatre and music

The Bremer Theatre offers classical music, musicals and theatre, with performances that take place at the ‘Theatre am Gotheplatz’, the ‘Schauspielhaus’, the ‘Brauhaus’ and the ‘Concordia’. The Bremer Theatre has a variety of performances and productions, with something for everyone; however classical pieces are the main domain.

The Shakespeare Company Theatre is dedicated to the famous author, William Shakespeare. It may have only 500 seats, but the actors know how to bring old dramas and comedies to life. The theatre has also developed its own contemporary productions. It has a friendly and informal atmosphere, and the actors allow the audience to witness the development of the play by allowing members of the public free entrance to theatre rehearsals.

‘Jekyll & Hyde: The Love Story’ is Bremen’s the most famous musical, and has been in production since 1999. It is performed six days a week at the Musical Theatre, situated close to the old part of Bremen, but is closed on Mondays. The Musical Theatre has a capacity of 1,500, and more than 170 costumes were made for the musical. The Bremer Musical Company, founded in 1997, presents homemade productions and extracts from famous musicals like ‘Cats’, ‘Phantom of the Opera’, ‘Grease’ and ‘West Side Story’. The team consists of 30 actors.

Festivals

There is something happening at most times of the year in Bremen, with the city living up to its reputation as a cultural melting pot. Some of the calendar’s highlights are:

• Amid a pastiche of samba rhythms and colourful masquerades, Germany’s biggest Samba Festival creates one of the greatest free shows on earth in February.
• October sees the greatest fun fair in northern Germany, the Bremen Freimarkt, Germany’s oldest and third largest civic festival, drawing over four million people to the Bürgerweide, just minutes from the historic city centre. The fairground features over 320 attractions in some 100,000 square metres.
• The countdown to Christmas sees the historic city centre come alive, with the Rathaus and Roland statues taking on a new splendour with over 170 colourful stalls. It’s no wonder that the Christmas Market continues to be acclaimed as one of the most enchanting in the country. Held downtown, visitors and Bremen people alike can indulge in the romantic atmosphere of the Christmas Market,
• The maritime spectacular, Schlachte Zauber, brings a golden glow to the riverside in December. Traditional handicrafts and medieval-style taverns, complete with wood fires and torchlights, are a magnet for the entire waterfront.  With snow-covered chalet-style stalls offering nourishing Bavarian and Austrian delicacies, sizzling fish specialties and mulled cocktail drinks.