Bremen City Hall

Bremen City Hall

UNESCO World Heritage Site
City hall from the market place, Roland in side view
Official name	Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of Bremen
Location	Bremen, Germany
Criteria	Cultural: (iii), (iv), (vi)
Reference	1087
Inscription	2004 (28th Session)
Area	0.287 ha (0.00111 sq mi)
Buffer zone	376 ha (1.45 sq mi)
Website	www.rathaus-bremen.de
Coordinates	53°4′33.5″N 8°48′26.9″E / 53.075972°N 8.807472°E / 53.075972; 8.807472
Location of Bremen City Hall in Germany

200m
220yds

Bremen City Hall

  

Bremen City Hall

Bremen City Hall (German: Bremer Rathaus) is the seat of the President of the Senate and Mayor of Bremen, Germany. It is one of the most important examples of Brick Gothic and Weser Renaissance architecture in Europe. Since 1973, it has been a protected historical building.^[1] In July 2004, along with the Bremen Roland statue, the building was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites because of its outstanding architecture and its testimony to the development of civic autonomy in the Holy Roman Empire.^[2]

Location and description

The city hall is on the northeastern side of the

The old town hall itself, originally constructed in the 15th century, is a rectangular, two-storey hall measuring 41.5 by 15.8 m.^[2] The ground floor contains one large hall with oak pillars, historically used for merchants and theatre, and the upper floor contained the main festivity hall.^[2]

History

The ancient town hall

Bremen's original town hall had been situated in the southern end of the block between Liebfrauenkirchhof ("Our Dear Lady's Churchyard"), Obernstraße ("Highstreet") and Sögestraße ("Pigstreet"). In 1229, it was mentioned as "domus theatralis" ("show house"), since 1251 repeatedly as "domus consularis" ("councilars' house"). An arch across the Sögestraße and a repair by a mason suggest a stone building, and already existing before the arrival of Gothic style it must have been erected in Romanesque style. It is assumed that before the municipality gained a certain autonomy, the building served as a law court and therefore had at least one open hall, as old Saxon law forbade trials to be held in closed rooms. An exact description is not available, but several documents tell about the cloth shops in that location. They describe the locations of "sub" ("below") being the town hall and the office. Depending on the interpretation of "below" as "in the hall below …" or "in front of the basement of …", the documents suggest very different settings of the town hall and its environment. Two texts tell of a stair or staircase of the house at Liebfrauenkirchhof.

After the construction of the newer town hall, it was hired out to the grocers' guild, than as a hobs store. Finally in 1598, it was sold to two owners, who converted it to or replaced it as their private houses.

The Gothic town hall

Around 1400, when the development of Bremen was at its height, a new town hall was planned and built. Most engaged were

With the construction of the town hall, the first Roland sculpture was erected in front of it. It was not yet as large as today.

The town hall in

From 1545 to 1550, an extension with three floors, containing a new Wittheits-Stube and offices, was built between the town hall and the archbishop's palace, showing a Renaissance style gable eastward facing the cathedral.

In the end of the century, Bremen lived through its second boom, and a great relaunch of the town hall was headed. The main artist was the architect and mason

. Furthermore, decorative balustrades were installed.

Baroque

Office of 1682/83 and the

Musicians of Bremen

Rear side in 1683

Soon after the completion of those works, Germany was ravaged by the Thirty Years' War, and after the Peace of Westphalia, Bremen had to defend against Swedish the invasion.

In 1682/83, The office on the rear side was enlarged in a form of Baroque style – with horizontal rows of windows that did not become common two centuries later.

19th century

With the

From 1820 to 1900, Bremen multiplied its population, and, in the decades around 1900,

By boarding up the outer walls, and due to heroic efforts of the fire brigade, the town hall of Bremen survived the air raids of World War II with little damage, though more than sixty percent of the city was destroyed.

Usage

• As mentioned above, the seat of the Burgomaster of Bremen is in the New Town Hall.
• The Bremer Schaffermahlzeit a traditional annual banquet for the captains, is held in the banquet hall of the New Town Hall.
• Many ceremonial events are held in the upper hall of the Old Town Hall.
• The lower hall of the historical building is frequently used for exhibitions.

Main sights

Old Town Hall

• The Upper Hall (Obere Rathaushalle). It is still Bremen's official for meetings.
• The Golden Chamber (Güldenkammer). This small room, added to the upper hall in 1608, was redecorated in 1905 by
  cuir de Cordoue
  ) have been selected in this style.
• The Lower Hall (Untere Rathaushalle). This room retains its unadorned original form. In contrast to the upper chamber, this room is much simpler, with a stone floor, visible timber beams, and whitewashed walls. In earlier times, it also functioned as a marketplace for fine-goods such as spices and cloths. Nowadays it is used for exhibitions.
• The Bremer Ratskeller is a public house in the basement, the home of the oldest barrel of wine in Germany, crafted in 1653.

New Town Hall

• The banquet hall
• The fireplace room
• The Gobelin room
• The Senate Hall

Gallery

• 
  Roland sculpture
• 
  Neighbourhood of Bremen's town hall
• 
  Upper Hall
• 
  Upper Hall with former archive (upstairs) and Güldenkammer
• 
  Upper Hall, "Charlemagne and bishop Ansgar", painted in 1532
• 
  Lower Hall
• 
  Ratskeller
• 
  Fireplace in the New Town Hall

Sources

• Konrad Elmshäuser: Der erste Roland und das erste Rathaus von Bremen, In: Bremisches Jahrbuch, vol. 84, Bremen 2005,
  ISSN 0341-9622
  , p. 9–45
• Rudolf Stein: Romanische, gotische und Renaissancebaukunst in Bremen, Bremen 1962, p. 239–276 und 529–676

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Town hall of Bremen.

• City of Bremen official website – in German and English
• Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of Bremen – UNESCO website