BREMEN, the capital of a duchy of the same name, is conjectured to have been anciently the Phabiranum of Ptolemy, and was known as the seat of an archbishop, in the time of Charlemagne. Its inhabitants were among the most early and zealous supporters of the Reforma tion; were closely besieged, in 1547, by Groengen, go vernor of Zealand, at the instance of Charles V. ; and were strongly charged by that emperor, at the diet of Augsburgh in 1550, on account of their obstinate at tachment to the principles of Calvin. In 1644, it was conquered by the Swedes ; and, at the peace of West phalia, in 1648, it was secularized into a duchy and fief of the empire. In 1654, its privileges were violated by Charles Gustavus, king of Sweden, and its walls invested by an army of that prince ; but, by the assistance of the elector of Brandenburg') and duke of Brunswick, it was enabled to make head against its assailants, till, by the mediation of the Dutch, a peace was concluded at Sta den, in which all its privileges were confirmed. In 1675, the town and duchy of Bremen were overrun by the forces of the dukes of Brunswick and Luneburgh ; but were retained by Sweden at the peace of Nimeguen, in 1679. In 1712 it was reduced by the Danes ; but was transferred, in 1715, to the elector of Brunswick, as an equivalent for a sum of 700,000 rix-dollars ; and in 1719, it was ceded by the crown of Sweden to that elector, (upon a payment of one million of rix-dollars,) who was afterwards invested by the emperor, as duke of Bremen and Verdcn. In 1757, the French took pos session of the city, but it was hastily abandoned in the year following, when it was instantly occupied by the Hanoverian troops, and remained under the government of the king of Great Britain as elector of Brunswick, till the late subjugation of all that country to the power of the French emperor.
The town of Bremen is situated upon a kind of pe ninsula, and is divided by the river Weser into two parts, called the old and the new town, which have communi cation with each other by means of several bridges ; on the largest of which is a hydraulic machine of considera ble height, for drawing and distributing water to the different quarters of the city. On the building which contains the wheel is the following inscription : " Volvc trarInm tIta dorm, VIcnrgic" The old town is the largest and most populous, and in it the principal inhabitants have their winter habita tions, while their gardens and places of residence in summer are in the new town. The streets of the old
town are generally very narrow, and the houses very old-fashioned and inconvenient in their structure. The houses in both towns,and in the suburbs, arc calculated at 5105, and the number of the inhabitants at 40,000. In the market-place is a large statue of Rolando ; and several of the public buildings are very handsome edi fices, the-gbief of which, are the town-hall, loaded with ornaments ; the change, a neat modern building ; op posite to this a coffee-house, remarkable for the numer ous figures in basso relievo on its walls ; the arsenal, the college, the Lutheran orphan house, and the Lu theran church. Under the last mentioned structure is a celebrated vault, called the " Bley-keller," or lead cellar, because the lead roof of the cathedral having been melted by lightning, fell into this place, which con tinues to be so free from moisture, that certain (lead bodies, which have been deposited within its walls, have been preserved from putrefaction, and have acquired the appearance of mummies; but its antiseptic virtues have been rated by travellers far beyond the truth. Bremen contains a physical institute, an anatomical theatre, a school for navigation, a considerable library, a museum, which has a tolerable collection of serpents, and other reptiles, with several useful mechanic models, and an observatory, under the direction of M. Olbers, the celebrated discoverer of the new planets Pallas and Vesta. The city is divided into four quarters, each of which has its own court, consisting of a burgomaster and six senators The predominant religious denomina tion is the reformed or Calvinistic ; and of this persua sion are the magistrates, who generally contrive to choose their successors from their own sect ; though the Lutherans are not excluded by law from a share in the government of the town, nor arc much inferior in point of number. The revenues amount to about 100,000 rix-dollars, and are levied by a species of property tax. The police is excellent ; and the poor are so well provided with work, that no beggars are seen in the place.