History of Bremen

Bremen is the capital of the state of Bremen in northwest Germany, on the Weser River. The state of Bremen was formed in 1947 by combining Bremen and Bremerhaven. The cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven, with their cultural heritage and  close location to the North Sea, have a high standard of living and leisure. Known as the Free Hanse City of Bremen, Germany’s oldest port city has been moulded by more than 1,000 years of history.

Early Charlemagne

Bremen was an older settlement, occupied prior to the advancement towards the Weser by troops of Charlemagne to Christianise the tribes in the region in the 8th century. Bremen was raised to the status of a diocesan town under Charlemagne in 787 AD, and around 200 years later, Emperor Otto I granted Bremen market privileges. This created the basis for the development of town trade, and the market settlement turned into a city.

Bremen’s ideal location by being near the point where the Weser flows into the North Sea and its people’s longstanding experience with ships, the river and the sea, have always been the key to the city-state’s commercial fortunes. In the 12th century, Bremen became a merchants’ town and its ships dominated the southern portions of the North Sea. This dominance ended when the Hanseatic League, originally a trade alliance of the Baltic Sea only, expanded to the North Sea.

Independence

The striving for independence is a thread that runs throughout Bremen’s history. Even with respect to the Hanseatic League, the once powerful alliance of cities in northern Europe, Bremen always endeavoured to maintain its independence. Bremen had a share in Hanseatic privileges, without belonging to the alliance, as early as the end of the 13th century. Bremen did not become a member of the league until 1358. For nearly three centuries, the city exploited the advantages of the Hanseatic League, and after 30 years of war, from 1618 to 1648, the league came to an end.

Ever since the 13th century, the people of Bremen had been fighting for free access to the sea, securing the River Weser and establishing independence from their own bishops and foreign princes. The city’s citizens wanted independence and self-determination. The Gothic statue of Roland, the medieval hero, was erected in 1404 to symbolise the city’s love of liberty.

Through its status as a free city of the Holy Roman Empire, the city’s striving was crowned with success. When the old German Empire was dissolved in 1806, Bremen finally became an independent, sovereign free state and called itself a Free Hanseatic City. Together with the sovereign princes and other free cities in Germany, the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen entered into the German Alliance in 1815.  As a Free Hanseatic City, Bremen became a federal state of the new German Empire in 1871.

Post-war Germany

After 1918, repeated efforts were made to restructure the German Reich. In all these proposals, however, the city-states of Bremen and Hamburg were accepted as independent state entities based on their special functions. Under the rule of the National Socialists Bremen, together with Bremerhaven, lost its independence. Then, in 1947, Bremen was re-established as an independent federal state, .

After WWII, Bremen became a part of the American occupation zone, as the USA wanted to have one port town within their zone. This prevented the inclusion of Bremen into the new Land of Lower Saxony that was formed around it within the British zone, and secured Bremen independence as a Federal State in its own right in the new West German federation.

Modern Bremen

Today, Bremen is Germany’s largest port after Hamburg, and is a commercial and industrial centre trading in cotton, wool, tobacco and copper. Bremen is a modern city whose produce includes ships, aircraft, steel, machinery, electrical equipment, textiles, beer and foodstuffs, particularly roasted coffee. Its maritime museum tells the thrilling story of ships and sea travel through the ages, and a series of magnificent old lighthouses stand as monuments to its proud maritime past. 

In recent years, Bremen has employed about half its workforce in commerce, transportation and the service sector. The city owes its international flair not only to the harbours with their links to the entire world, but also to aerospace technology, science, research and not least of all, a rich cultural life. Bremen is launching a bid to be the European Capital of Culture 2010.