Bremer Bank was a fully owned subsidiary of

Dresdner Bank Dresdner Bank AG was a German bank and was based in Frankfurt. It was one of Germany's largest banking corporations and was acquired by competitor Commerzbank in May 2009. History 19th century The Dresdner Bank was established on 12 Novemb ...

with branches in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

's districts Mitte (city center next to

Bremen Cathedral Bremen Cathedral (german: Bremer Dom or St. Petri Dom zu Bremen), dedicated to St. Peter, is a church situated in the Bremer Marktplatz, market square in the center of Bremen (city), Bremen. The cathedral belongs to the Evangelical Church of Breme ...

), Neustadt, Utbremen, and

Vegesack Vegesack is a northern district of the city of Bremen. Geography ''Vegesack'' is located about north from the centre of Bremen-city at the mouth of the river Lesum, beside the river Weser (). Abutting the district of Vegesack to the northwest is ...

. The branches in

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

were labeled as Dresdner Bank. The base of customers and staff was added to

Commerzbank Commerzbank AG () is a major German bank operating as a universal bank, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. In the 2019 financial year, the bank was the second largest in Germany by the total value of its balance sheet. Founded in 1870 in Hambur ...

when Commerzbank AG bought Dresdner Bank. Since 2010, according to a writ by the acquiring company, the brand Dresdner Bank is only used in Dresden and the brand Bremer Bank is not used at all anymore. However, a trademark protection exists until November 30, 2019. The painting of founder Heinrich Maier was removed and is owned by Commerzbank. In its place (see photo) is now a door leading to the lower level of the Manufactum. The name Bremer Bank is now used for the landmarked building at Domshof. Commerzbank AG was represented there with a branch until mid-2015. Due to reasons of landmark tradition the copper lettering 'Bremer Bank' remained on the gable of the building. Above the entrance used to be green luminous advertising reading 'Bremer Bank' which was replaced according to landmark requirements by a copper sign now reading 'Commerzbank' including the logo also in brown copper. The color of the copper writings through weathering in time will turn into a green basic copper(II)-carbonate color which will match the building's roof.

History of the bank

In 1856, Bremer Bank was founded by tradesmen and ship-owners and with a significant contribution of Hermann Henrich Meier (founder of

Norddeutscher Lloyd Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL; North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of th ...

). Forerunner of Bremer Bank is Bremer Discontokasse, founded in 1817. Until foundation of the

German Reich German ''Reich'' (lit. German Realm, German Empire, from german: Deutsches Reich, ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty ...

in 1871, Bremer Bank was a private bank for Bremen. In 1895 negotiations for a merger with Eugen Gutmann from Dresdner Bank were also led by Hermann Henrich Meier. The merger was a profitable business for the Bremer tradesmen; the name Bremer Bank was still used in Bremen. After Commerzbank acquired Dresdner Bank in 2008 the name Bremer Bank was kept at first. In August 2010 Commerzbank installed a sign in the entrance area reading: Bremer Bank – Branch of Commerzbank AG. The sign was replaced in the beginning of 2012 by a company sign which only had Commerzbank's name on it. This final rebranding was due to a decision made by Commerzbank in March 2010.

History of the building

From 1902 until 1904 the bank building was built according to plans by architects Albert Dunkel and Dietrich Tölken in the

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

style in

Domshof The Domshof (''Cathedral Court'') is a town square in Bremen, north of the Bremen Cathedral, cathedral and the Bremer Marktplatz, Marktplatz. The Domshof is used for markets as well as larger outdoor events, particularly May Day demonstrations. T ...

(Cathedral Court). Until 1902 St.Petri-Orphanage was located in that spot. In 1979 the building was significantly expanded by a north-east extension according to plans by Dietrich and Herrmann. A building located next to the old bank building was enclosed by the extension, only a white front in the style of

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...

remained. The old bank building was mostly preserved especially the entrance area towards Domshof. From 1980 until 1990 the building was also home of Bremen Exchange. The old bank building on the corner Domshof / Sandstraße is listed as landmark since 1994 and still represents the tradition of Bremer Bank – now as branch of Commerzbank. The entrances in other parts of the building ensemble are designed as official access to offices and other institutions. For example, the Bremer branch of Barmer GEK is located behind the white, classical front. In 2016 a branch of

manufactum Manufactum GmbH & Co. KG (formerly ''Manufactum Hoof & Partner KG'') is a German retailer with nine full-sized stores in Germany and an online store that serves primarily Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the UK. The main focus of the company ar ...

was opened in the counter hall. Today, "Markthalle Acht" (Market hall 8) is located in the atrium of the building ensemble which was roofed, because of the address Domshof 8.

References

External links

{{Portal, Banks German companies established in 1856 Defunct banks of Germany Commerzbank Dresdner Bank Banks established in 1856 Banks disestablished in 2010 German companies disestablished in 2010