The Bremer Marktplatz (Bremen Market Square) is a square situated in the centre of the

Hanseatic The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=German language, Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Norther ...

City of

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 ...

. One of the oldest public squares in the city, it covers an area of . It is no longer used as a

market place A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from the Arabic), '' ...

except for the

Christmas market A Christmas market, also known as ''Christkindlmarkt'' (literally: ''Christ Child Market'', but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), ''Christkindlesmarkt'', ''Chris ...

and the annual Freimarkt Fair at the end of October.

History and development

At least parts of the market place had been in function since the age of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

. Its southern side originally was the bank of river Balge (river), a branch of the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...

and Bremen's first port. There was an easy access for boats, but this section of the bank was too low for permanent buildings. From late 12th to late 13th century, the area of the market place was levelled and plastered in several stages. Theories that before the construction of the

Bremen Town Hall The Bremen City Hall (german: Bremer Rathaus) is the seat of the President of the Senate and Mayor of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. It is one of the most important examples of Brick Gothic and Weser Renaissance architecture in Europe. Si ...

in 1405 to 1410 all or only most of the market activities took place near Liebfrauenkirche have been falsified by archeological findings. Meantime with the townhall, Roland Statue was erected on the market square. Some time later, a stone wall was built between the inner and the outer areas of the square. The inner space was used for the market. A rule was made which allowed only merchants whose vehicles could pass one of the seven openings in the wall to sell their products. The city council made this rule in order to ensure that there was sufficient space for pedestrians between the market stalls. In the end of the 18th or beginning of the 19th century, the wall was removed and replaced by a circle of columns. At the same time, the market place lost its outstanding importance as a centre of trade and commerce even though it continued to be used as a market until mid 20th century. In 1836, the square was repaved with

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

. Inside the circle of columns, darker stones depicted a wheel with 10 spokes. At centre of the wheel, reddish stones form a

Hanseatic Cross The Hanseatic Cross (German: ''Hanseatenkreuz'') was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire during World War I. Each republic established its own version of ...

. With a diameter of , it commemorates the importance of the

Hanseatic Legion The Hanseatic Legion was a military unit, first formed of a group of citizens from Hamburg. They had met in 1813 on the instigation of General Friedrich Karl von Tettenborn, in order to fight in the War of the Sixth Coalition. This association ...

during the Wars of Liberation (1813-1815). Between February and June 2002, the pavement was renewed without changing its historical layout.

Buildings

The building ensemble which flanks the Marktplatz is considered one of the most beautiful in Germany. In July 2004, the part consisting of the Roland Statue and the Town Hall was listed as
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Sandstone and brick are uniformly used for the

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

s of the buildings. Many objects of historical interest surround the Marktplatz. The entire complex is listed as a heritage site. * Am Markt 1: Rathscafé/Deutsches Haus, 1908–1911 * Am Markt 9: Haus Jonas und Kaune, 1600 und 1955 * Am Markt 11: Raths-Apotheke, 1893–1894 und 1957/58 * Am Markt 12: Sparkasse am Markt, 1755 und 1958 * Am Markt 13: Schütting, 1537–1538 * Am Markt 14, 15 and 16: Bankhaus Neelmeyer, Wilckens’sches Haus, Bremische Hypothekenbank, Geschäftshaus „Zum Roland“, Niedersaechsische Bank * Am Markt 17: Medizinisches Warenhaus, 1950 * Am Markt 18: Eduscho-Haus, Bankhaus Carl F. Plump & Co., 1952–1953 * Am Markt 19: Bankhaus Carl F. Plump & Co., 1960 * Am Markt 20: Haus der Bürgerschaft (parliament building), 1962–1966 * Am Markt 21:

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

, New Town Hall,

Bremen Ratskeller The Bremen Ratskeller is the council wine cellar (German: "Ratskeller") of the Townhall of Bremen. Since it was erected in the year 1405, German wines were stored and sold there. With its history over 600 years the Ratskeller of Bremen is one ...

from 1400 till today * Marktstraße 3: House C of the chamber of commerce, 1956 * Am Dom 1:

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 ...

, from 1041 till today * Am Dom 2: Küsterhaus (sexton's house), 1926–1928 * Am Dom 5A: Börsenhof A, part of the New Exchange (Neue Börse) *

Böttcherstraße Böttcherstraße is a street in the historic centre of Bremen, Germany. Only about 100 m (330 ft) long, it is famous for its unusual architecture and ranks among the city's main cultural landmarks and visitor attractions. Most of its bui ...

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: 1922–1931 * Langenstraße 2, 4, 6 and 8: previously Disconto-Bank, today

Kontorhaus am Markt The Kontorhaus am Markt in Bremen is a historical building in the city centre of Bremen. Today, it is used as a shopping mall. It is situated at the Bremer Marktplatz between three streets: Langenstrasse 2/8, Stintbruecke 1 and Bredenstrasse 13. ...

mit Ladenpassage (office building with shopping mall), 1910/12 und 2001/02 * Langenstraße 13: Stadtwaage (Weigh House), with two cultural institutions, the Günter-Grass-Stiftung and the

Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (''unofficial English translation'': Bremen German Chamber Philharmonic) is a chamber orchestra based in Bremen (Germany), with place of residence in the historical building Stadtwaage. History A group of ...

Literature

* *

References

External links

Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of Bremen
UNESCO {{DEFAULTSORT:Bremer Marktplatz Squares in Bremen (city) Buildings and structures in Bremen (city) History of Bremen (city) Bremen, Marktplatz Brick Gothic Gothic architecture in Germany Renaissance architecture in Bremen