Bremen

Bremen is a city in northern Germany (official name: Freie Hansestadt Bremen1 (Free Hanseatic City of Bremen), referring to its membership in the medieval Hanseatic League). It is a port city, situated along the river Weser, about 50 km south from its outflow into the North Sea. Bremen is one of two towns belonging to the state of Bremen, the other being Bremerhaven. Population: 545,983 (1st June 2005).

Politics
The Bürgerschaft (city assembly) is the parliament of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen(official name, German: Freie Hansestadt Bremen), which is voted for by the citizens of Bremen every four years.

The first mayor of the city (Erster Bürgermeister) as head of the senate (which forms the executive branch) is elected by the Bürgerschaft (city assembly) and is thus head of the city state. Currently, the First Mayor of Bremen is Jens Böhrnsen.

History

In the 8th century the troops of Charlemagne advanced to the Weser in order to christianise the tribes settling here. Bremen, which may have been an older settlement, became a bishopric2; a deed claiming the town's foundation in 788 has now been recognised as a forgery, so the exact date is unknown. In the following centuries the bishops of Bremen were the driving force behind the Christianisation of Scandinavia.

In the 12th century the power of the archbishops was challenged by Henry the Lion. The duke was successful and became the factual ruler of the town. These events led to a civil government and a loss of clerical power. Bremen became a merchants' town, and its ships dominated the southern portions of the North Sea. This dominance ended when the Hanseatic League, originally a trade alliance of the Baltic Sea only, expanded to the North Sea. In the early 14th century ships from Bremen acted as pirates to board hanseatic cogs. In order to avoid open war aldermen from Bremen went to the Hanseatic Council in Lübeck and agreed to becoming members of the league (1358)3.

Bremen remained a reluctant member of the Hanseatic League. The town demanded support for its wars against the chieftains of Frisia, who ruled the region around the Weser mouth, but they seldom joined campaigns in the Baltic Sea. In 1425 the conflict escalated, when the citizens burnt hanseatic documents on the market place. Bremen was expelled from the league in 1427. The consequences followed soon: the sudden loss of power led to territorial claims of neighbouring states (e.g. Oldenburg) and significant territorial losses.

Sights

Many of the sights in Bremen are found in the Altstadt (Old Town), an oval area surrounded by the Weser River, on the southwest, and the Stadtgraben, the former moats of the medieval city walls, on the northeast. The oldest part of the Altstadt is the southeast half, starting with the Marktplatz and ending at the Schnoor district.

The Marktplatz (Market square) is dominated by the opulent façade of the Town Hall. The building was erected between 1405 and 1410 in Gothic style, but the façade was built two centuries later (1609-12), in Renaissance style.
In front of the Town Hall stand two famous statues: one is the statue (1404) of the city's protector, Roland, bearing the "sword of justice" and a shield decorated with an imperial eagle. The other is Gerhard Marcks's famous 1953 bronze sculpture Die Stadtmusikanten (Town Musicians) which portrays the donkey, dog, cat, and rooster of the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale.
Other interesting buildings in the vicinity of the Marktplatz are the Schütting, a 16th-century Flemish-inspired guild hall, and the Stadtwaage, the former weighing house (built in 1588), with an ornate Renaissance façade.
The impressive Cathedral St. Petri (13th century), to the east of the Marktplatz, with sculptures of Moses and David, Peter and Paul, and Charlemagne.
The Liebfrauenkirche (Our Lady's Church) is the oldest church of the town (11th century). Its crypt features several impressive murals from the 14th century.
Off the south side of the Markplatz, the 110-metre (120 yards) Böttcherstraße was transformed in 1923-1931 by the coffee Magnate Ludwig Roselius, who commissioned local artists to convert the narrow street (in medieval time, the street of the barrel makers) into a inspired mixture of Gothic and Art Nouveau. Today, the street is one of Bremen's most popular attractions.
At the end of Böttcherstraße, by the Weser bank, stands the Martinikirche (St Martin's Church), a Gothic brick church built in 1229, and rebuilt in 1960 after its destruction in World War II.
Tucked away between the Cathedral and the river is the Schnoor, a small, well-preserved area of crooked lanes and fishing houses from the 15th and 16th centuries, now occupied by cafés, artisan shops and art galleries.
Schlachte, the medieval harbour of Bremen (the modern port is some kilometres downstream) and today a street with one pub/bar next to the other on the one side and on the other side the river Weser.
More contemporary tourist attractions include:

Universum Science Center, a modern science museum
botanika, an extension to a public park that attempts to the same as above Universum for biology
Beck's Beer Factory, tours are available to the public which include beer tasting
The Space Center opened in 2004 inside the Space Park in the Gröpelingen district and closed on 2004 26 September, since then a remarkable investment ruin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen