Friday, July 12, 2024
The Tale of the Bremen Town Musicians
Like the donkey, the dog, the cat, and the rooster from the Bremen Town Musicians who set out on the road to Bremen to become town musicians there, we also set out to the Hanseatic city of Bremen, the place my wife and I called home from 2011 until 2012.
The main train station (Hauptbahnhof) is located in the heart of the city and was our starting point. The train station was walking distance from Findorff, the neighbourhood we lived in. We would visit many of the places that were part of our daily lives more than a decade ago.
Mühle am Wall
On our way to the city centre, we always walked by the Mühle am Wall (windmill), the last remaining of the 12 flour windmills that once sat in a ring around Bremen; it was constructed in 1833, but burned in 1897 and was rebuilt in 1899. Flour was ground here until 1947, and today the mill hosts a café.
Bremen’s Town Hall and Roland
Bremen’s Town Hall (Rathaus) and Roland are among Bremen’s most famous sights. Since 2004, the Town Hall and Roland have occupied a place on UNESCO’s World Heritage List as cultural monuments. Bremen’s town hall is the only town hall in the world to receive this honour.
The Town Hall and Roland on the marketplace of Bremen are an outstanding representation of the civic autonomy and market rights as they developed in the Holy Roman Empire in Europe. The Old Town Hall was built as a Gothic hall structure in the early 15th century, and renovated in the so-called Weser Renaissance style in the early 17th century. A New Town Hall was built next to the old one in the early 20th century as part of an ensemble that survived the bombardments during the Second World War.
The Old Town Hall is a two-storey hall building with a rectangular floor plan, 41.5 m by 15.8 m. It is described as a transverse rectangular Saalgeschossbau (i.e. a multi-storey construction built to contain a large hall).
The ground floor is formed of one large hall with oak pillars; it served for merchants and theatrical performances. The upper floor has the main festivity hall of the same dimensions. Between the windows, there are stone statues representing the emperor and prince electors, which date from the original Gothic period, integrated with late-Renaissance sculptural decoration symbolising civic autonomy.
Underground, the town hall has a large wine cellar with one hall in the dimensions of the ground floor with stone pillars, which was later extended to the west and is now used as a restaurant.
In the 17th century, the Town Hall was renovated, and out of the eleven axes of the colonnade the three middle ones were accentuated by a bay construction with large rectangular windows and a high gable, an example of the so-called Weser Renaissance. An elaborate sculptural decoration in sandstone was added to the façade, representing allegorical and emblematic depictions.
The New Town Hall was the result of an architectural competition, designed by Gabriel von Seidl from Munich, and built between 1909 and 1913.
The stone statue of Roland was initially erected in 1404 in representation of the rights and privileges of the free and imperial city of Bremen. The statue of Roland is associated with the Margrave of Brittany, a paladin of Charlemagne.
St. Petri Dom
Bremen’s St. Petri Dom (St. Peter’s Cathedral ) is an impressive building in the market square. The church has stood on this site for over 1,200 years. The first wooden cathedral was built in 789 by the Saxon bishop Willehad and replaced by a stone building around 805. After being destroyed and rebuilt several times, the three-nave basilica was built in the 11th century, which provided the basic structure of today’s impressive Bremen Cathedral. The southern of the two over 90-metre-high towers can be climbed and offers an incredible view over Bremen.
Schnoor – Bremen’s Oldest District
Only a few hundred metres from the market square is the Schnoor, Bremen’s oldest district.
The name Schnoor means string – ropes and cables for ships were made in the district. The Schnoor was one of the poorer districts of Bremen. While the rich merchants settled on Obernstraße (Upper Street) on Langenstraße (Long Street), the Schnoor developed in the 10th century as a district of fishermen, craftsmen and tradesmen. The inhabitants built thatched cottages on the little island between the rivers Weser and Balge. Therefore, during its first centuries it was liable to high floods.
The smallest house in Germany can be found in the Schnoor. Artist Fynn Kliemann bought it in 2020, renovated and turned it into a vacation apartment.
Bremen Town Musicians
The Bremen Town Musicians are without doubt the pride and joy of Bremen. The bronze statue created by Gerhard Marcks in 1953 stands in the heart of Bremen as a tribute to the popular fairytale by the Brothers Grimm. According to the story, a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster set off on a journey to Bremen in search of a better life.
The world-famous fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm has been translated many times and enjoys international popularity. If you don´t want to read the Story, you can also listen to it here.
If you drop coins or paper money into the small slit of the circular, bronze manhole cover, you are rewarded with the “singing” of the Bremen Town Musicians.
The “Bremer Loch” was the brainchild of professor and designer, Fitz Haase, who came up with the donation box idea to assist the city’s charitable organization. Since 2007, the year it was installed, between 12,000 and 17,000 euros are dropped into the slot every year. Many visitors drop one coin after another just to hear all the four animal voices. The collections are managed and distributed by the Wilhelm-Kaisen-Buergerhilfe, a charitable foundation that support aid projects for the disadvantaged people of the city.
Carl Wilhelm Kaisen was a German politician (SPD) and the Mayor of Bremen Mayor from 1945 to 1965.
Before heading out to Beck’s Brewery for a 3-hour tour that we pre-booked, we went out for lunch at John Benton restaurant in the market square where they have an outdoor patio.
Die Frau who is vegetarian the Kartoffel-Gemüsefanne, a pan fried dish consisting of potato slices, stir-fried vegetables, and beet falafel topped with sour cream.
Der Herr had the Zanderfilet, a fish dish consisting of pike-perch fillet with mashed potatoes, mushrooms, and lemon butter.
Two words: Sehr lecker
Beck’s Brewery – A Brief History of the Company
The brewer Cord-Hinrich Haake (1801 – 1845) founded the C.H. Haake Brewery in the Wachstrasse (Wach Street) in Bremen in 1826. He started to brew bottom-fermenting pale beer, the first brewery in Bremen to do so. At the same time, he built the first ice cellar on the Neustadtsdeich on the banks of the Weser river, today the site of Beck & Co.
Heinrich Beck (1832 – 1881), brewmaster and co-founder of the “Kaiser-Brauerei Beck & Co” had a philosophy of using only the best possible raw materials for his Pilsner-style beer which resulted in Beck’s beer being ideally suited for long transportation, making it the perfect export product.
Lüder Rutenberg (1816 – 1890) was an architect, builder and founder of the “Kaiser-Brauerei Beck & Co”. He had great influence on the development of Bremen. He was responsible for many important public buildings, such as the municipal art gallery and was the driving force behind the foundation of the brewery.
A force in the region In his sales strategy Haake broke new ground. In addition to the usual direct sales from the brewery, the company used its own horse-drawn carts to supply many public houses in Bremen, founded several branches and provided pubs with the necessary fittings and equipment. Before long, C.H. Haake became the largest beer producer in town.
The “Kaiser-Brauerei” Nearly 50 years later, in 1873, the Bremen architect Lüder Rutenberg bought the old “Dunt’zesche” brewery in the Neustadt district off Bremen at an auction. Together with master brewer Heinrich Beck and the merchant Thomas May, he founded the company “Kaiser-Brauerei Beck & May o.H.G.” Beer was classically served in brown bottles but supply was scarce. Beck’s looked for other glass suppliers and found a wine bottle producer with capacity. Wine bottles at that time were green and that’s how the iconic green Beck’s bottle was introduced. Beck’s beer differed from all other beers at a time when beer was exclusively sold in brown bottles. The facilities were soon expanded and modernized so that in the following year beer output was already four times the original volume.
Medals and International recognition In 1874, crown prince Friedrich, later Kaiser Friedrich III awarded Beck’s a gold medal for the best beer at the International Agricultural show in Bremen. Another gold medal awarded to Beck’s as best continental beer at the 1876 World Exhibition in Philadelphia which was the start of an extraordinary success story. After the World Exhibition, the demand for Beck’s was so great that the brewery decided to brew exclusively for export. In 1931, breweries in Batavia and Singapore started brewing Beck’s beer to supply the high demand in the far east. Beck’s beer was first distributed and sold in Germany in 1949 to protect against the risk of international markets.
Is Bremen the oldest brewing city in Germany?
The first mention of beer in Bremen goes back to the year 1072 AD, when Bremen’s Archbishop Adalbert ordered that beer be served free to the poor. This is the earliest written documentation of beer-brewing in any town or city in Germany.
“Bremen Beer” – a mark of quality Beer did not only play an important role in the everyday life of Bremen’s townsfolk; by the Middle Ages it had also become a major export product. The beers of Bremen were famous throughout the states of northern Germany and as far away as England, Holland, Scandinavia, and Russia. They must have been of such exceptional quality that competing trading cities even tried to sell their own inferior quality beer under the name “Bremen Beer”.
300 Breweries By 1489, the breweries of Bremen had joined together to form a “Society of Brewers” with the aim of promoting their common interests – at this time there must have been 200-300 breweries in the city. After the Thirty Years’ War the number declined somewhat, yet beer remained as popular as ever: in 1744 the town council decreed that no more than six tons of beer be served during a two-day wedding celebration.
Beer from Bremen – worldwide Bremen’s breweries enjoyed a renewed boom in the second half of the 19th century. The exporting breweries, in particular, laid the foundation for the excellent reputation “Beer from Bremen” enjoys throughout the world. Today, these breweries have all been amalgamated into the company Beck & Co.
Purity Law In 1516, the dukes of Bavaria decreed that beer should be made exclusively from malted barley, hops, and water – the so-called Purity Law. One of the aims of this decree was to help Bavarian beer achieve the same high standard of quality as the north German beers.
The city symbol of Bremen is a key, which is portrayed on the Beck’s bottle. The city wanted Beck’s to pay a fee for using the key as a symbol, which Beck’s avoided by mirroring the key and registering it as its own trademark.
(a) Sustainability Goals: Climate Protection, Packagin, and Water – By 2025, the brewery wants to reduce total CO emmissions on their site from 5.9 kg to 5.2 kg per hectoliter for the production of beer, packaging will consist of 100% recycled materials, and reduce the water used on their site from 3.1 hectoliter to 2.8 hectolier for the production of beer.
(b) Brauerei Beck & Co.
(c) Beer is the oldest beverage produced by man. The very first beer was probably the result of bread fermenting in water. In Mesopotamia, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, beer brewing dates back about 7,000 years. Some time later, brewing also began along the Nile river in Egypt.
In ancient civilisations, beer was not only an essential part of daily nourishment, it was also a means of payment and a sacrificial or burial gift.
The figure of the Egyptian brewer is 4,400 years old. It was found near the Great Pyramids of Giza. The brewer is shown pressing the fermenting mash, a mixture of malt and water, through a sieve into an earthenware vat. The original figure is on display at the Roemer-Pelizaeus-Museum, an archaeological museum in Hildesheim, Germany.
(d) Single brewhouse with fire heating. The one reconstructed here for the museum was found in many German breweries in the 1900s.
(e) Machine factory named Germania from Chemnitz, Germany
(f) Fermentation vat (capacity: 4,048 litres): The main fermentation process takes place in the vats of the fermentating cellar. The wort (beer starter) comprised of malt extract (grain mash) and water only becomes beer once it has fermented. The copper ice-float hanging above the vat was used to regulate the fermentation temperature. Top-fermented beers are fermented at warmer temperatures whereas bottom-fermented pilsener beers need colder fermentation.
(g) Yeast vessel – The fermentation of the wort is caused by the added yeast. The malt sugars are broken down to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide. The yeast vessel was used to mix the wort with yeast before it entered the fermentation vat. There are two methods of fermentation – top-fermentation and bottom-fermentation. The yeast remains at the top of the wort during top-fermentation, while in the colder bottom-fermentation process, the yeast settles at the bottom of the vat.
(h) Fermentation vat
(i) Bottle filler
(j), (k) Copper boiler
(l) Brewery yard
(m) Hot water tank
(n) Bottling Lines No. 7 and No. 8 – These two high-efficiency bottling lines were erected in 1991 in accordance with the most modern technical standard known. Within one hour, three fillers can process 160,000 re-usable and environment-friendly deposit bottles of Beck’s, Haake-Beck and Remmer Light Beer.
(o) Fermentation tanks
Our day would end by visiting my wife’s niece and her boyfriend in Achim, 18 km away by train before returning home.
<< Deutsche Bahn Train Stations >> To Be Continued
I feel I have much to add here: The Hanseatic City of Bremen is not a place where you arrive; it is a place that arrives at you, unbidden, with its Gothic spires and cobblestone streets sneaking into view when you least expect it. In this quiet corner of the world, the air feels fresher, perhaps a little cheekier than in other towns, as though the winds themselves have some lively gossip to share from the old days when merchants ruled the waves.
Bremen, you see, is a city that has known many hats in its time—trade hats, independence hats, perhaps even the occasional fool’s cap when the beer got too good and the city fathers lost sight of the day’s work. But through it all, Bremen has endured, stubbornly, like an old chestnut tree too rooted in history to be moved by the passing of time.
The first thing you’ll notice upon arriving in Bremen—if you can stop gawking at the size of their sausages—is the Roland statue, a fellow with a chin that seems to mock the whole idea of historical solemnity. Standing proud in the market square, Roland’s been keeping watch since 1404, his stone eyes daring any would-be conqueror to try and take his beloved city. “Go ahead,” his face seems to say. “Try your worst, but good luck getting past the Rathaus first.” The old town hall is a gothic wonder, all arches and intricate carvings that make you feel as if the building itself could come to life and conduct a council of its own accord.
Not far from Roland, you’ll meet the Bremen Town Musicians. They’re cast in bronze, stacked one atop the other—donkey, dog, cat, rooster—and you’d swear they’re posing for a portrait, waiting for the perfect moment when some rich merchant or prince might come by and commission a fancier piece. There’s a rumor that rubbing the donkey’s hooves brings good luck, though, after a while, the poor fellow’s toes must feel more like a well-handled coin than a bearer of fortunes.
But Bremen is not just a city of statues and fables—it is a city of water, winding canals and the river Weser cradling it like an old, faithful friend. You can almost hear the murmurs of trade deals from centuries past, echoing off the wharves where merchants once unloaded spices, silks, and every conceivable good that Europe was too cold to grow itself.
The beer flows easily here, naturally, as it should in any self-respecting German town, and the people of Bremen take great pride in their brews. But they are not loud or boastful about it, no sir. They simply hand you a glass with a wink, as if to say, “We’ll let the beer speak for itself.” And speak it does—usually in the manner of convincing you that one more round couldn’t hurt.
At night, the city takes on a different tone altogether. It hums with the quiet confidence of a place that has outlasted empires, seen revolutions come and go, and yet, here it remains, like an old storybook on the shelf that you never tire of opening.
Jonathan Ladd Smith-