Typisch bremisch Typically “Bremish”

No marketing agent could have thought of more appealing
ambassadors for the city. They are not large and
mighty, but resolute, courageous and clever. “Daring and
winning, at home and further afield” – this slogan adopted
by Bremen’s merchant community also applies perfectly
to the Town Musicians. Already in the Hanseatic League,
Bremen demonstrated its skills in forging alliances and
using them to the benefit of the city. Today it is hard at
work helping to forge the alliance of northern countries
against the rich south, for example in an effort to secure
important infrastructure funds for the north and to obtain
more support for the ports, the maritime economy and
the offshore industry. After all, the donkey, dog, cat and
rooster only succeeded by working together.
The musical quartet is even known and loved in China,
and not just since the Expo 2010 in Shanghai, where a
beautifully drawn Mandarin version of the fairytale contributed
to the appeal of Bremen’s presentation. Time and
again the jolly gang has inspired artists and cartoonists.
There’s the “Town Musicians of Bremen – B-Team” by Peter
Gaymann, with a pig, hen, fish and snail instead of the
original cast. The children’s book author Janosch drew and
wrote a new version of the Town Musicians, turning them
into punk musicians. Since 2012 the fairytale is also available
as manga. The fantastic four have already been on the
Muppet-Show, while back in 1922 Walt Disney made a
short film about the “Four Musicians of Bremen”.
Bremen’s modesty
to Bremer Kunstverein – and initially triggered massive
criticism. A self-appointed “Association for Cityscape
Design” felt the group of figures by the Bauhaus artist were
an “imposition” on the viewer. It sounded very much like
the criticism directed at Marcks by the Nazis who put his
work in the category of “degenerate art”. Fortunately, the
people of Bremen didn’t share this opinion. They loved the
bronze figures and wanted to make sure they had a permanent
place in the city. Thanks to a fundraising campaign,
in 1955 the sculpture passed into city ownership.
Time and again, suggestions are made, particularly by outsiders,
to move the city’s unofficial landmark into a more
central position. And its modest size of just two metres
(without plinth) sometimes also gets criticised. But that
wouldn’t be “Bremish”. The people of Bremen don’t
like making such a fuss about things. Here the Minister-
President is simply called Mayor. This is just one of the
things that make the city so appealing for many, as revealed
in a current study by Christoph Burmann. The Professor
for Innovative Brand Management at the University
of Bremen asked more than 4,000 tourists, highly qualified
individuals and freshmen students which attributes they
would give the city. In contrast to Berlin, Bremen is not
seen as particularly creative or rebellious – which of course
the creatives living here don’t agree with – , instead,
Bremen is closely associated with attributes such as safe,
free of stress and family-friendly, here reaching similarly
high values as Freiburg im Breisgau, which for many is the
absolute epitome of the quality of life.
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So it’s no great surprise that tourists from all over the
world are keen to see the Town Musicians in addition to
the Roland statue and Town Hall, part of the UNESCO
World Cultural Heritage. But the Town Musicians aren’t that
easy to find. They stand modestly to the side of the Town
Hall, on the left next to the entrance to the Lower Town
Hall. They were installed here in 1953 on loan from Marcks
The historic city centre with the UNESCO World Cultural
Heritage ensemble around the Roland statue and the
Town Hall, the pub scene along the river Weser and all
the open green spaces come together to conjure up the
image of a city where life is good. The titles City of Science
and University of Excellence have certainly helped to
enhance Bremen’s appeal, particularly among highly quali-
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