Bremen Town Hall and Roland Statue

Bremen, Germany

Bremen Town hall was built between 1405 and 1410 and the Weser Renaissance facade added in the 17th century. The Town Hall and the statue of Roland on the marketplace are outstanding representations of civic autonomy and sovereignty, as these developed in the Holy Roman Empire in Europe. The old town hall was built in the Gothic style in the early 15th century, after Bremen joined the Hanseatic League. The building was 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 bombardment during the Second World War.

The stone statue of Roland was initially erected in 1404 in representation of the rights and privileges of the free and imperial city of Bremen. The statue of Roland is associated with the Margrave of Brittany, a paladin of Charlemagne.

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Address

Am Markt 20, Bremen, Germany
See all sites in Bremen

Details

Founded: 1404-1410
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Germany
Historical period: Habsburg Dynasty (Germany)

More Information

whc.unesco.org
www.bremen-tourism.de
en.wikipedia.org
www.bremen-tourism.de

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Bremen Ratskeller (0 km)
Church of Our Lady (0,1 km)
Bremen Cathedral (0,1 km)
St. John's Church (0,3 km)
St. Martin's Church (0,2 km)

User Reviews

Halina Maladtsova (2 years ago)
Highly recommend the tour of the inside. Our English guide (I forget his name but remember that his mother is Turkish) was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. It was a great way to learn the history of Bremen!
jeremy noah (2 years ago)
The beautiful Bremen City Hall 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. Since 1973, it has been a protected historical building. In July 2004, along with the Bremen Roland statue, the building was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. A must've seen in Bremen!
Bruce Chamberlain (2 years ago)
Beautiful to look at at night when they light up the city hall
Ruben Rodrigues (2 years ago)
I love how all medieval aged german cities have a marketplatz with a church and a rathaus. I am in love with all of this!
A.K. Young (2 years ago)
This Gothic, UNESCO world heritage site was amazingly restored to its prewar glory. You can enjoy it and the surrounding walking area. And, you can get a tour of the interior -- definitely worth the effort. This is the history-rich part of town.
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Palazzo Colonna

The Palazzo Colonna is a palatial block of buildings built in part over ruins of an old Roman Serapeum, and has belonged to the prestigious Colonna family for over twenty generations.

The first part of the palace dates from the 13th century, and tradition holds that the building hosted Dante in his visit to Rome. The first documentary mention notes that the property hosted Cardinal Giovanni and Giacomo Colonna in the 13th century. It was also home to Cardinal Oddone Colonna before he ascended to the papacy as Martin V (1417–1431).

With his passing, the palace was sacked during feuds, and the main property passed into the hands of the Della Rovere family. It returned to the Colonna family when Marcantonio I Colonna married Lucrezia Gara Franciotti Della Rovere, the niece of pope Julius II. The Colonna"s alliance to the Habsburg power, likely protected the palace from looting during the Sack of Rome (1527).

Starting with Filippo Colonna (1578–1639) many changes have refurbished and create a unitary complex around a central garden. Architects including Girolamo Rainaldi and Paolo Marucelli labored on specific projects. Only in the 17th and 18th centuries were the main facades completed. Much of this design was completed by Antonio del Grande (including the grand gallery), and Girolamo Fontana (decoration of gallery). In the 18th century, the long low facade designed by Nicola Michetti with later additions by Paolo Posi with taller corner blocks (facing Piazza Apostoli) was constructed recalls earlier structures resembling a fortification.

The main gallery (completed 1703) and the masterful Colonna art collection was acquired after 1650 by both the cardinal Girolamo I Colonna and his nephew the Connestabile Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna and includes works by Lorenzo Monaco, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Palma the Elder, Salviati, Bronzino, Tintoretto, Pietro da Cortona, Annibale Carracci (painting of The Beaneater), Guercino, Francesco Albani, Muziano and Guido Reni. Ceiling frescoes by Filippo Gherardi, Giovanni Coli, Sebastiano Ricci, and Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari celebrate the role of Marcantonio II Colonna in the battle of Lepanto (1571). The gallery is open to the public on Saturday mornings.

The older wing of the complex known as the Princess Isabelle"s apartments, but once housing Martin V"s library and palace, contains frescoes by Pinturicchio, Antonio Tempesta, Crescenzio Onofri, Giacinto Gimignani, and Carlo Cesi. It contains a collection of landscapes and genre scenes by painters like Gaspard Dughet, Caspar Van Wittel (Vanvitelli), and Jan Brueghel the Elder.

Along with the possessions of the Doria-Pamphilij and Pallavacini-Rospigliosi families, this is one of the largest private art collections in Rome.

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