Germany Guide
Bremen
The Markt
There's no better introduction to Bremen than one of the finest squares in North Germany. From the Hanseatic Cross set in cobbles to the flash patricians' houses, the UNESCO-listed Markt is a paean to mercantile prowess in Rococo and Renaissance. No surprise that a citizenry dedicated to declaring its independence from the Church created the Rathaus that dominates the square. That Gothic original, with trademark Hanseatic striped brickwork, is largely smothered beneath a flamboyant Weser Renaissance facade that makes this one of the prized buildings of North Germany. No piece is more extravagant than the balustrade. Among its allegorical images are the hen and chicks that found refuge from the flooded Weser on a sandbank and inspired Saxon fishermen to found a town – or so the story goes – and reliefs that mock the clergy as a crowing cock with sceptre and crown. Rooms within (tours Mon– Sat 11am, noon, 3pm & 4pm, Sun 11am & noon; €5; tickets from tourist office on Liebfrauenkirchhof) live up to the looks outside: there's an ornate Renaissance staircase; model trading-ships that salute the Hansa heritage; and in the Güldenkammer, gilded Jugendstil leather wall-hangings from Worpswede artist Heinrich Voegler.
Almost as renowned as the town hall is a warren of domed cellars that rambles beneath the Rathaus and Markt, as the city's Ratskeller.
Beside the Ratskeller's entrance, Bremen's fab four, the Stadtmusikanten (Town Musicians), pose in the pyramid that terrified a band of thieves and won them a home according to the folk tale popularized by the Brothers Grimm. Created by Bauhaus sculptor Gerhard Marcks in 1951, the bronze is Bremen's icon; they say it grants any wish made while holding the donkey's legs.
The city's traditional hero is chivalric knight Roland, Charlemagne's nephew and star of the medieval French epic Chanson de Roland. Since 1404, the symbolic guardian of civic rights has stood before the Rathaus and brandished a sword of justice at the Dom to champion the citizens' independence from the archbishops. Bremeners say that as long as their 5.5m-high protector stands on his 10m plinth, the city's liberty is assured. Bar Napoleon, who occupied from 1810 to 1813 but respected the free-city status, and Hitler (who didn't), they've been right.