Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of Bremen

The Marketplace of Bremen looks a wonderful place to drink a good German beer

Bremen

This postcard was sent by Michèle

The Town Hall and Roland on the marketplace of Bremen in north-west Germany are an outstanding representation of the civic autonomy and market rights as they developed in the Holy Roman Empire in Europe. 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. A New Town Hall was built next to the old one in the early 20th century as part of an ensemble that survived the bombardments during the Second World War.

Town Hall

This postcard was sent by Claus from the Postcrossing Meeting in Bremen

The Old Town Hall is a two-storey hall building with a rectangular floor plan, 41.5 m by 15.8 m. It is described as a transverse rectangular Saalgeschossbau (i.e. a multi-storey construction built to contain a large hall). The ground floor is formed of one large hall with oak pillars; it served for merchants and theatrical performances. The upper floor has the main festivity hall of the same dimensions. Between the windows, there are stone statues representing the emperor and prince electors, which date from the original Gothic period, integrated with late-Renaissance sculptural decoration symbolising civic autonomy. Underground, the town hall has a large wine cellar with one hall in the dimensions of the ground floor with stone pillars, which was later extended to the west and is now used as a restaurant. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1087/

Roland

This postcard was sent by Alena

The Bremen Roland is a statue of Roland, erected in 1404. It stands in the market square (Rathausplatz) of Bremen, Germany, facing the cathedral, and shows Roland, paladin of the first Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne and hero of the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. Roland is shown as protector of the city: his legendary sword (known in chivalric legend as Durendal) is unsheathed, and his shield is emblazoned with the two-headed Imperial eagle.

The standing figure is 5.47 m tall, and stands on a 60 cm rostrum. A supporting column, crowned by a baldachin, brings the combined height to 10.21 m. The statue was carved in limestone from Elm, and was commissioned by the city fathers to replace a wooden one burnt in 1366 by Prince-Archbishop Albert II. It confronts the church as a representation of city rights opposed to the territorial claims of the prince-archbishop. - in: wikipedia