Have you ever been to Bremen?
Even if you didn't, I'm sure you've heard of it!
Probably from the classic story from the Brothers Grimm: "The Town Musicians of Bremen",
first published in 1819.
Since I read the story again recently, I was wondering:
Why did the animals decide to go to Bremen?
They could go anywhere, right? They could go anywhere in Europe,
but they decided to come here. So, today we will find out, why.
And this story starts with an old donkey. His best years behind him he was no longer
strong enough to work for his human master. But he was a smart donkey.
So, before being put down, he flees, already set to go to Bremen,
a place where he could be free and become a Town Musician.
He soon finds an old hunting dog by the road, also too weak to do his work,
and convinces him to join him on his way to the city and to become a musician.
Not before long they meet a cat, sitting on the path with a face like three rainy days.
It can't hunt rats anymore,
and its mistress wanted to drown it, so it flees and quickly joins the crew.
When passing by a farmyard, the trio meets a rooster sitting upon the gate, dreading for his life,
because he knew, Sunday was coming and with it some visitors.
So he also knew he was about to become a dinner.
So the donkey says to him:
Come with us to Bremen! Something better than death you can find everywhere.
But Bremen was, however, too far
to reach in one day, so they had to find a place to sleep.
After trying to chill by a tree and not finding it very cozy, they noticed a shimmering light in
the distance, a house! Inside the house they had food, it looked very warm and it was being used by robbers,
of all people! That's when the crew decided to assume their famous pyramid position
and then they sang to the top of their lungs and jumped inside the house through the window.
Their hellish cacophony made the men run away in fear for their lives.
The animals took that as a win, and had a feast! As they slept, the robbers came
back inside, one of them, just to check how the situation was inside the house.
He tried to get some embers to light the room up, but it was the eyes of the cat that was quite shining right away.
After that he stumbled upon the dog
and was bitten right away. And that's when he was
hit by the donkey's hooves, all while the rooster was screaming at the top of his lungs!
All this pain and chaos made the robber jump to the conclusion that their house was taken over
by a gang of evil beings: an evil witch with long nails, a man with a knife, a monster
with a club, and a screaming judge.
And I want to belive that a judge is the robber's worst enemy – I don't know.
So the robbers decided that everything was to my stop and they left an they never came back.
So actually the musicians of Bremen never left the house and never came here to Bremen in the first place.
It is a fun story, with a message of teamwork and never giving up. Like the Donkey says to
the rooster: "Something better than death we can find everywhere". But still: why Bremen?
Now we are here in the medieval quarter of Bremen, called Schnoor. And here we can see buildings going as
far back as the 14th century. And everything here reminds us of the best of the city with the sea trading traditions.
Even the name, Schoor, refers to the ropes and cables that were produced here centuries ago.
It is the only place in Bremen that still maintains a medieval character,
even if many of the constructions came much later. It was not very damaged
during the Second World War, and after renovation efforts starting in 1959,
it became one of the loveliest places to visit when in town.
Whenever we visit one of those seafaring cities, I love to have fish as a snack,
because they are usually very fresh and also I love the remoulade sauce they put on top.
So yeah, this is a good filling!
And for dessert we decided to try this Bremer Kluten.
And apparently it is a little piece of sugar. A big piece actually, of sugar!
With peppermint oil and a little bit of chocolate on the outside. Let's try!
It's a bit too sweet for my taste but I think that if you try it after a big
cup of coffee or something like this, it's going to be great.
St. John's Church is the oldest building in the area, built in the 14th century,
when Bremen was already a Free Imperial City, enjoying a great level of autonomy and influence.
They even had their own coin, the Bremen thaler, that lasted until the German Empire of 1871!
But back to the middle ages: A free city would be the place to be for any tradesman or person that
wanted to escape any feudal influences, such as serfs.
There's even a saying from back the day: "The city air will make you free."
So it was a place to look for freedom, even if it didn't always work out as you expected.
It makes perfect sense for anyone to look for freedom in place like Bremen!
So that must be why donkey thought of it so quickly.
Today this state is called the Free Hanseatic City State of Bremen.
And it is the smallest state here in Germany, both in area and population.
And it's really incredible that Bremen has so much autonomy after so many centuries!
One of the reasons Bremen had so much autonomy
was because of its powerful economic status as a Hanseatic City.
The Hanseatic League was a powerful trading organization, with cooperation and mergers
of merchants for the promotion of their trade abroad and its influence was broad, with city
members from Portugal to Russia, and routes from Scandinavian countries to Italy. In its heyday,
the Hanseatic League was so powerful that it could impose economic blockades against whole kingdoms
to enforce their economic interests. We can see classic Hanseatic influences
in its architecture, such as the Brick Gothic buildings.
The Old Town Hall was built as a Gothic hall structure in the early 15th century,
and renovated in the so-called Weser Renaissance style in the early 17th century.
Being part of the Hanseatic League brought all kinds of imports here to Bremen.
There was chocolate, there was coffee, there was tea, things that weren't as common back in the day, right?
Speaking of which, there was this merchant of coffee that was so rich, that he just decided to rebuild
a whole section of the city. It used to be a medieval section of the city, but he just rebuilt it
in this modernist brick style from the 1920's. So it's really interesting to check this street.
It is called the Böttcherstrasse and there are all kinds of artisanal and art shops. And also gift shops!
The stone statue of Roland over here was initially erected in 1404 in representation of the
rights and privileges of the free imperial city of Bremen.
Some even say he is looking directly to the church for a reason: the power struggle between the
church and the League was continuous! According to the legend, Bremen will remain
free and independent for as long as Roland stands watch over the city. For this reason,
it is alleged that a second Roland statue is kept hidden in the Town Hall's underground vaults,
which can be quickly installed as a substitute, should the original fall.
And when you are in the area, don't forget to take a selfie with the Musicians of Bremen right here!
It's a statue that was raised in 1953 by a Bauhaus member.
And actually the musicians are everywhere, even in the sewers.
It is incredible how much this story has been re-told, adapted and referenced in the media.
From a German opera made here in Bremen in 1949, to a Soviet cartoon adaptation,
to a Muppets adaptation. An anime was made by the famous Tezuka Productions
and a musical theater was composed in Italian, and then adapted to Brazilian Portuguese.
There are also multiple statues around the world, and references in popular video games such
as The Legend of Zelda and also The Witcher 3.
So, as legendary as it sounds, Bremen is still a city!
Doing its own thing for centuries, but never disconnected from others
close and far apart, all thanks to the river Weser. And if you liked this video, please leave a like
and subscribe to the channel! Until the next one, Tschüs!