Bremen City Hall
By Gregor Gosciniak, German Editor

9 April 2005: Bremen City Hall, built between 1405 and 1408 after the northern German city had joined the Hanseatic League, is today considered the only German, and indeed European, city hall from the Middle Ages, which survived intact despite centuries of political and religious conflict and warfare. Thoughtful repair and maintenance have ensured that Bremen City Hall is today a unique example of authentic Gothic construction.

Most German city halls were heavily damaged or even destroyed during World War II. Fortunately, Bremen City Hall survived the war and has been fully preserved in its medieval state. The original functions of the building’s two floors have also been retained. The upper floor of the City Hall was reserved for events such as receptions and official functions, while the ground floor was used by the market traders, which made up a large part of Bremen’s population in the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance. This mix of use ensured that average citizens and those who governed Bremen kept in contact with each other.

The architecture and the sculptures of Bremen City Hall incorporate strong references to the origin and character of the city but they also depict the city council’s policies of self-government. Like many other German municipal centres built around the same time, Bremen City Hall was a manifestation of the growing self-confidence of the city council and its claim to civic powers. All over Germany, new city halls were build, or existing ones enlarged, to show the growing influence of civic authority at a time when royal rulers and the churches were the dominant institutions.

In front of Bremen’s City Hall stands the 5.5-metres high statue of ‘Roland’. Placed there in 1404, it is one of the tallest Roland statues, which were erected in market places all over central Europe as symbols of freedom and market rights. Roland, a historical figure, is thought to have been the paladin of European Emperor Charlemagne. He is credited as being the originator of the French ‘chanson de geste’ and other medieval and Renaissance epic poetry.

Bremen is one of Germany’s three city states, the other two being Hamburg and Berlin. Today, the City Hall and the Roland are proud symbols of Bremen’s autonomous status. The people of city refer to Roland as their Statue of Liberty.

In 2004, Bremen City Hall and the Roland were awarded World Heritage status, after a UNESCO report highlighted their “exceptional testimony to the civic autonomy and sovereignty, developed in the Holy Roman Empire”.