Tom`s travels: Bremen (01/06/2017)

After having finished the semester in Strasbourg, Ania and I headed to Hamburg for a few days, and in the meantime, I decided to visit a few places around the area. The first trip was to Bremen, a once Hanseatic city, and thus as Hamburg, having its own Bundesland. After taking the bus from Hamburg and reaching the city of Bremen, we headed directly in the Altstadt, or old town. As we approached the town center, we passed by the Am Wall Windmill, built in the late 19th century is the Dutch style. Walking a little further we reached the Wesser river and walked along its quayside until we encountered and entered the church of St Martin, built in the Gothic style during the 13th century. After visiting the church, we headed back into town, walking through the Boettcherstrasse, a hundred meter long street filled with Brick Expressionist buildings dating to the 1920-30s Just one building is from the 16th century, and that is the Roselius House. As most of Bremen, even this area was heavily bombed during WWII and mostly rebuilt. Reaching the end of the street we came out in the Marktplatz, or market square, which is the main square of the old town. All around sit important buildings, such as the Schutting, which used to be the merchant's guild-house, and the town hall, which is a Unesco world heritage site. Originally built during the middle ages, the current building features a beautiful Weser Renaissance facade from the 17th century. Behind it stands also the new town hall building, dating to the beginning of the 20th century, and built in the same style to maintain a continuous harmony in the buildings. Underneath the building is located the Ratskeller, or wine cellar, where both old bottles and newer ones were kept at the disposal of the city. Right in front of the town hall and close to the center of the main square stands the statue of the Roland, also part of the Unesco listing, erected in 1404, and representing Roland, Charlemagne's paladin. Carved in limestone, the statue itself is 5.47m while with its baldachin it reaches a height of 10.21m. Built in many towns during the Middle Ages that were under Saxon law, it was used as a symbol of freedom, and in fact, the legend of the one in Bremen goes that as long as the statue stands up, the city will always be free and independent. At the western end of the town hall stands the 1953 statues of the Town Musicians of Bremen, a famous fairy tale regarding a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster becoming musicians. Next to it stands the Church of Our Lady, dating to the 13th century in the Gothic style. After the visit to the church, we crossed back through the main square and reached the city's Cathedral. Dedicated to St Pete, it was built in a Gothic style during the 13th century. Its oldest part is located in the crypt below with Romanesque columns and a baptismal bronze font from 1229. After visiting the inside of the church, we exited to the cloister where we descended down the Bleikeller, or lead cellar, where a small museum displayed the well-preserved mummies of some inhabitants of the city from the 17th century. After the Cathedral, we walked further and gave a brief look a the Gothic church of St John. From there we then entered the Schnoor, a medieval neighborhood, which is the only survivor of the WWII destructions. Walking along its narrow streets we admired the nice small medieval houses, which looked even better on this sunny day. From there it was a short walk to our last stop of the day: the Kunsthalle, or art museum. Inside were several paintings from all over Europe including some portraying Italy and even one on Venice. After this last visit it was time to go, so we headed to the bus station where we got our ride back to Hamburg.