Bremen - Time is always too short! We planned our trip to Hanover Airport so that we could spend at least half a day in Bremen's city centre.

Of course, we knew that half a day wouldn't be nearly enough to visit all the interesting buildings and squares of this old Hanseatic city. But when you're already so far north again, you should at least visit Izmir's twin city, even if it's just for a short visit.

Earlier that morning, we had searched online for parking options near the city centre and found them, so we were able to easily drive right up to the centre using our navigation system. In the future, we will increasingly rely on bicycles to explore cities, as the cycle paths into the centers and the parking facilities on the outskirts are so well developed.

This is especially true for Bremen, which has an excellent network of cycle paths, making it easy to reach other cities via cycle routes that offer a scenic and scenic route.

The cycle paths along the Weser River are particularly well-known, stretching all the way to the river's source, where the two headstreams, Werra and Fulda, converge, and down to Bremerhaven and the North Sea.

After parking the car near Martinistraße, the walk through the pedestrian zones to Bremen's Rathausplatz (Town Hall Square) was quick and easy. The square's historic buildings, with their ornate brick facades—the world-famous Town Hall, St. Peter's Cathedral, the Bremen Parliament building, the market square with the Bremen Roland statue, and all the cafes and bars housed in the historic structures—were more than just impressive at first glance.

My wife was especially taken with the little tower keeper's cottage. She repeatedly remarked how lovely it must be to live there, without ever having seen the inside, so charming was its exterior. Yes, I too must admit that I was very taken with the ensemble of historic buildings with their imposing facades, mixed with the colourful market activity of the vendors at their stalls.

The Old Town Hall was built between 1405 and 1409 as a representative and fortified structure, almost concurrently with the Bremen Roland statue of 1404, at a high point in the city's medieval history. The hall-like building, constructed of alternating red and black glazed bricks, is 42 meters long and 16 meters wide; its interior was completed by 1412. In the three-aisled Ratskeller (town hall cellar), which is worth visiting for its architecture alone, the vault rests on 20 sandstone pillars. In the Lower Hall, 20 oak posts support the wooden beam ceiling, which creaks obligatorily under the footsteps of visitors. The Upper Hall, an undivided hall with a self-supporting ceiling, is richly decorated with murals, ornamental portals, and wood carvings.

On the market-facing facade, eight monumental sculptures depict the emperor and the electors. This cycle of figures underscores the city's claim to imperial immediacy. Above the entrances on the narrow sides are figures of prophets, including Peter, who is depicted facing the cathedral. Later, this figure was reinterpreted as a philosopher. An arcaded gallery with eleven bays runs in front of the facade, and various additions were built to the north side starting in the 16th century.

From 1608 to 1614, the town hall underwent several renovations, including the redesign of the market-facing facade in the Renaissance style under the Bremen architect Lüder von Bentheim.

A central projection was added, creating a glass oriel window with a Flemish pediment, flanked by two further decorative gables. This ornate facade is a masterpiece of the Weser Renaissance, and its rich iconographic program can be interpreted as a moral appeal to the rulers, emphasizing republican civic virtues.

The Golden Chamber in the Upper Hall, containing important woodcuts, was completed in 1616. In 1905, Heinrich Vogeler redesigned the chamber's interior into a unified work of art in the historicist Art Nouveau style. Then, in 2004, the ensemble of the Old and New Town Halls, together with the Roland statue, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as an exceptional example of a late medieval town hall, representing civic autonomy and urban freedom in a city-state that remains independent to this day.

The Bremen Roland

Directly in front of the imposing facade of the Town Hall stands the Bremen Roland, a symbol of the city, on a stepped pedestal approximately 60 centimetres high. The figure of Roland is 5.47 meters tall, but is surpassed in height by the Gothic-ornamented canopy of a pillar structure behind it. With a total height of 10.21 meters, the Bremen Roland is the largest freestanding sculpture of the Middle Ages in Germany.

The figure of Roland, who was supposedly a nephew of Charlemagne and who went down in history as a military leader, as recounted in songs and epics, stands here as the emperor's representative, proclaiming and guaranteeing the market rights and freedoms allegedly granted to the city by Charlemagne. Unfortunately, how much truth there is in these epics and legends cannot be definitively proven by documents. The inscription on the shield of the Roland statue at least hints at this fact:

“vryheit do ik ju openbar / d’ karl vnd mēnich vorst vorwar / desser stede ghegheuen hat / des danket god’ is mī radt”

“Freedom I publicly proclaim to you / which Charlemagne and many a prince truly / gave to this place / for which thank God, that is my advice!”

Historical records tell us that there was initially a predecessor to the Bremen Roland, made of wood. At that time, countless cities and their citizens rebelled against the episcopal supremacy of the Church, including Bremen. On the night of May 28-29, 1366, fighters of Archbishop Albert II, as a demonstration of the Church's power, toppled and burned the wooden Roland figure. The wooden Roland statue had also borne the imperial coat of arms and was probably erected between 1340 and 1350.

There are said to have been Roland statues even before that. Before construction began on Bremen's Town Hall in 1404, the Bremen council commissioned stonemasons Claws Zeelleyher and Jacob Olde to create a Roland statue from Elm limestone, for which they paid 170 Bremen marks.

During the French occupation, the Roland statue was slated for demolition in 1811 to make way for a market hall. However, these plans disappeared with the end of French rule. Over the centuries, the figure of Roland has been interpreted in numerous ways, as the figure, with its chainmail, breastplate, and greaves, is generally considered a warrior knight.

However, his hairstyle suggests that he is a free man living a chivalric life. The raised sword here is more a symbol of municipal jurisdiction than the knight's insignia, as the scabbard attached to his belt is missing. The shield with the double-headed eagle of the Holy Roman Empire is a symbol of Bremen's long-contested claim to imperial freedom.

The small figure at Roland's feet is predominantly interpreted by scholars as a subjugated Frisian chieftain.

In Bremen, it is often said that the city will remain free and independent as long as Roland stands and watches over it. The legend that a second Roland statue is hidden in the cellars of the town hall as a readily available replacement likely stems from the Roland statue's storage in the town hall between the World Wars.

While Roland's gaze, directed roughly towards the cathedral, was once seen as a power play against the archbishop, the city's ruler, today, with good reason, this interpretation is denied.

And so, folklore also composed a verse, in Low German, of course:

Roland with the curly hair,
How wonderful he looks!
Roland with the coat of arms
He stands as stiff as a stick.
Roland with the pointy knees,
Tell me, doesn't that hurt you?

The Town Musicians

Almost everyone is familiar with the fairy tale of the four animals (rooster, cat, dog, and donkey) of the "Bremen Town Musicians," whose world-famous figures can be found right next to the town hall, small and unassuming.

The bronze statue by Gerhard Marcks, only two meters high, on the left side of Bremen's town hall, dating from 1953, is probably the most famous landmark of the city of Bremen. In just a few years, a veritable myth has developed around the figures, leading people to believe that a wish will come true if you grasp the donkey's front legs and think of your wish.

This myth is now world-famous, and so you'll find travellers from all over the world grasping the front legs of donkeys or dogs. The donkey's smooth, worn fetlocks are clearly visible.

Similar to the myth of clasping the donkey's legs, there's a myth surrounding the Bremen Roland statue that says whoever rubs its pointed knee will return to Bremen. Just to be on the safe side, we ended our short visit to Bremen today by rubbing the Bremen Roland's knee. You never know!

Please also read Part 2 of our Bremen visit!

Please also read:

Bremen's Schnoor district and Böttcherstraße

Harbour tour on the Weser River in Bremen

The Schnoor – Bremen's most famous tourist attraction