BREMEN, bri'men, Germany, a port and free city, and an independent member of the empire, one of the three Hanse towns, is sit uated on the Weser, about 50 miles from its mouth, in its own small territory of 98 square miles, besides which it possesses the town and port of Bremerhaven at the mouth of the river. The to*n is divided into the old town (Alt stadt), on the right bank of the river; the new town (Neustadt), on the left bank of the river, and the extensive suburbs (Vorstidte). The first is separated from the suburban quarters adjoining by the ramparts of the city, now con verted into walks and pleasure-grounds, and forms a sort of semi-circle on the right bank of the river. The new town lies on the left bank of the river opposite the old, with which it is connected by three bridges two of them cross ing the main stream and tie third crossing the arm of it called the Little Weser, besides a railway bridge. Extensive suburbs lie on this side also. The streets of the old town are gen erally narrow and crooked and lined with antique houses in the style of the Middle Ages. This is the business quarter of the city and contains the chief public buildings, including the cathedral, the old Gothic council-house, with the famous wine cellar below it, the modern town-hall, the Schiitting or merchants' house, the old and the new exchange, etc. The new town has straight, well-built streets, lined mostly with dwelling-houses and shops. The suburbs also consist chiefly of dwelling-houses, and as these often have gardens in front, the streets have a very pleasant aspect. The chief ecclesiastical building is the cathedral, a Ro manesque edifice, founded in 1044, subsequently added to at various times, and in 1888-93 pro vided with two new western towers. There are several other old and interesting churches, as those of Saint Ansgar, Saint Stephen and Saint John. Among buildings of recent erec tion are the courthouse, savings bank and rail way station. There are several squares and open spaces, and besides the pleasure-grounds formed from the ramparts, a large public park has been laid out on the north side of the town. Bremen is well supplied with schools and other educational institutions, and possesses a mu seum, a library (120,000 volumes), an observa tory, etc. The manufacturing establishments include tobacco and cigar factories, sugar-re fineries, rice-mills, iron-foundries and machine works, rope and sail works and shipbuilding yards. It is from its commerce, however, that Bremen derives its importance. Its situation renders it the emporium of Hanover, Bruns wick, Hesse and other countries traversed by the Weser, and next to Hamburg it is the principal seat of the export and im port trade of Germany. The Weser has been deepened so that sea-going ships draw ing 17 feet of water can now ascend to the Bremen docks, but the great bulk of the shipping trade centres in Bremerhaven and Geestemiinde. Bremerhaven is now a place of over 18,000 inhabitants, and is provided with excellent docks capable of receiving the largest vessels; it is connected by railway with Bremen, where the chief trading companies, merchants and brokers have their offices. 'the greater
portion of the German trade with the United States passes through Bremen, and it is the chief port of emigration on the Continent. The chief imports are tobacco, raw cotton and cot ton manufactures, wool and woolen manufac tures, rice, coffee, grain, petroleum, wines, tim ber, hemp, dyewoods, skins etc., which are of course chiefly exported to other parts of Ger many and the Continent. The exports are woolen goods, linens, glass, rags, wool, hemp, hides, oil cake, wooden toys, etc. Next to Liverpool, Bremen is to-day the leading European cotton market. Before the organization of the cotton exchange in 1872, the German merchants had been getting their product chiefly from Havre and Liverpool, very little being imported direct. To become independent of Bntish ports, it was necessary to get the patronage of the inland spinners. This proved no easy task. Not until a decade had passed did the Bremen exchange cease to be a local institution and acquire a standing of national importance; but ever since the development has been phenomenal. While the importation of cotton in the year 1870 amounted to only 157,689 bales, it ran up to 397,998 bales in the year 1880. Ten years later there were 812,538 bales and when the great war broke out in 1914 had reached enormous figures. The new cotton exchange opened in 1902 is not only one of the most imposing struc tures of this nature in the world, but also the most complete in the appointments necessary for carrying on the business of buying and sell ing cotton and supplying the leading merchants and brokers with office and sample rooms. The city owns its gasworks, waterworks and elec tric plants. The municipal management of these has been a great benefit, yielding an in creasing annual net income to the city treasury. The public schools are maintained and controlled by the city. Bremen spends almost twice as much on education as on its police force.
Bremen first rose into note about 788, when it was made the seat of a bishopric by Charle magne. It was afterward raised to the dignity of an archbishopric, and by the end of the 14th century it had become virtually a free imperial city. At the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 the archbishopric was secularized and became a duchy under the supremacy of Sweden. In 1731, when the Elector of Brunswick gained possession of the duchy, the privileges of Bre men as a free city were confirmed. From 1810 to 1813 it formed part of the French empire. The constitution is in most respects republican. The legislative authority is shared by the sen ate, a body of 16 (11 of whom must be lawyers and five merchants; elected for life) and pre sided over by two of their own number alter nately, who have the title of burgomaster; and by an assembly of 150 citizens elected for six years. The executive power is entrusted to the senate and senatorial committees. Pop. of the total territory (including Bremerhaven) about 248,000.