Individual State Research: Bremen, Germany

 

Opening:  The state that I chose to research was Bremen, Germany.  Bremen is special because it is not only a state, it is also a city.  Bremen is a very interesting city/state that is stretched across Lower Saxony.

Overview:  During this presentation the location, economy, history, and tourism will be discussed about Bremen, Germany.

Reasons:  I chose to learn about this state because I did not get to research it when we did the original research of states with our groups.  I also wanted to pick a state that I really hadn’t heard a lot about and a state that I didn’t have any prior knowledge of before researching.

Bremen:

Bremen is the tiniest city/state in northwestern Germany.  Clip:  It is two pieces of land stretched across the Lower Saxony landscape.  End Clip: (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/germany/bremen. 9/14/2011).  The population of Bremen is about 660,000 people.  Clip:  The area of this city/state is about 326.73 km squared, which is about double the size of the District of Columbia.  End Clip:  (http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/area.shtml. 9/14/2011).  

This state is the second highest development center after Hamburg.  It forms part of the production network of Airbus Deutschland.  There is also the Beck & Company’s and St Pauli Girl beers are brewed here.  Clip:  Bremen used to be a major wine importer, but over the years this has really decreased.  Even though they do not import nearly as much wine, they still have the largest wine cellar in the world.  The cellar is located under the city’s main square.  End Clip:  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen#Economy. 9/14/2011).  Alongside the brewers, Bremen has a large number of food producing or trading companies located in the state.  These are the German or European headquarters.  Some of these include Kellogg’s, Kraft Foods, and Milka Chocolate.  Another big part of the economy is the port.  Clip:  The port in Bremen is located along the Weser River.  End Clip:  (http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/europe/european-union/germany/bremen/. 9/14/2011).  The Weser River serves as an outlet to the North Sea.  Clip:  Bremen is ranked as having the second highest economy by nominal GDR per capita in Germany.  End Clip:  (http://www.mapzones.org/Bremen.html. 9/14/2011.)

During the beginning of this state, people who were called Chauci lived in this area.  This area was originally called Lower Saxony.  Clip:  By the end of the 3^rd century, these people came together with the Saxons.  During the Saxon Wars the Saxons fought against the West Germanic Franks and lost the war.  After they lost the war, they were under the control of the King of the Franks.  End Clip:  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen#History. 9/14/2011).  Soon after the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War, Bremen declared its neutrality.  Many territories in the Lower Saxon Circle decided to do the same. In 1623 the Lower Saxon Circle decided to create and army in order to maintain the neutrality.  Later on, Napoleon invaded Bremen.  This eventually caused the French to withdraw from Bremen.  Between November of 1918 and February of 1919 a Soviet Republic Council existed in this state.  After World War 1, this was overthrown.  Clip:  In 1949 the city/state joined the West German Federal Republic of Germany.  End Clip:  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state). 9/14/2011).    

Bremen is a popular destination for tourists.  Due to World War II, there are very few historic building left.  This does not keep people from visiting the wonderful city/state.  One place that is very popular to people is the City of Bremerhaven.  People like to visit the Port of Bremerhaven.  It has a cool temperate climate due to the North Sea.  They also can visit the Museum of Sea Travel.  This is where people can enjoy exploring ships and a submarine.  Another thing that people like to visit is the German Emigration Center.  This center was compared to Ellis Island.  People who visit here get the knowledge of what the emigrants’ experience was during each stage of the process.  The thing that I found to be really interesting was that people get to actually search for their ancestors at this center. 

Bremen is a very interesting city and state.  There is a lot of history and opportunities for people who live and visit this place.  The state is very economically successful and succeeding in many different industries.  I enjoyed researching this and if I ever go to Germany, I would be interested in visiting this city/state.