94

BREMEN.

The  historic  Hansa  City  of  Bremen  is  a  State  as  well  as  a  municipality,  for
though  Bremen  parted  with  its  independence  in  customs  matters  in  1888  it  has
retained  its  political  independence,  and  its  government  is  still  the  limited
republican  form  under  which  it  has  lived  for  so  many  centuries.  Though
Bremen  is  famous  as  a  maritime  trading  town,  it  lies  75  miles  distant  from  the
open  sea,  and  37^  miles  from  its  harbour,  Bremerhaven,  with  which  it  is  connected ­
  by  the  river  Weser.  The  entire  area  of  the  State  territory  is  63,357
acres  (about  99  square  miles),  of  which  13,178  acres  fall  to  the  town  of  Bremen
proper,  173  acres  to  the  small  town  of  Vegesack,  2,172  acres  to  Bremerhaven,
47,000  acres  to  a  number  of  villages  lying  on  both  sides  of  the  Weser,  and  833
acres  to  the  river  bed.  The  town  itself  has  been  extended  six  times  since  1848 r
the  last  extensions  (of  1901-2)  taking  in  the  villages  of  Walle,  Gröpelingen,
Hastedt,  Schwachhausen,  and  Woltmershausen,  with  an  area  of  7,478  acres.  The
whole  of  the  adjacent  country  lies  low  and  but  little  above  the.sea  level,  and
banks  have  had  to  be  constructed  outside  Bremen  as  a  protection  against  the
river  floods.
At  the  census  of  December,  1905,  the  State  of  Bremen  had  a  population  of
259,433,  and  the  town  one  of  211,931.  The  modern  growth  of  Bremen  has
been  marked  by  no  such  startling  leaps  as  have  been  experienced  by  some
German  towns  more  closely  identified  with  industry,  but  its  history  has  since
1871  been  a  history  of  steady  and  healthy  progress.
The  following  Table  shows  the  movement  of  the  towns’  population  during
the  intercensal  periods  since  1871

Year,

Population.

Intercensal  Increase.

Increase  Per  Cent.

1871
1875
1880
1885
1890
1895
1900
1905

82,969
102,499
111,940
118,043
124,955
141,133
161,184
211,931

19,530
9,441
6,103
6,912
16,178
20,051
50,747

23  5
92
5'5
59
12  9
142
315

The  increase  during  the  period  1900-1905  was  enhanced  by  the  incorporation ­
  in  1902  of  townships  having  a  population  of  21,940.  The  population  of
the  whole  State  increased  from  112,402  in  1871  to  156,723  in  1880,  180,443
in  1890,  224,882  in  1900,  and  259,433  in  1905.
The  increase  of  population  in  recent  years  has  been  confined  to  the
suburbs,  for  in  the  older  districts,  the  “  Old  Town  ”  and  the  “Hew  Town,”  a
gradual  decline  has  for  a  long  time  been  in  progress  owing  to  the  conversion  of
dwelling  houses  into  business  premises  and  the  clearances  made  for  the  erection
of  public  buildings.  The  “  Old  Town,”  indeed,  reached  its  highest  figure  in
1842,  since  when  it  has  more  and  more  taken  the  “  City”  character,  and  the
26,372  inhabitants  of  that  year  fell  to  18,088  in  1905.  So,  too,  the  “  New  Town  ”
had  in  1905  13,708  inhabitants  against  15,070  in  1895,  when  its  highest  population ­
  was  recorded.  It  is  noteworthy  that  of  Bremen’s  population  in
December,  1900,  54*3  per  cent,  were  born  in  the  town.
Like  Hamburg,  Bremen  was  crippled  as  an  industrial  centre  so  long  as  it
did  not  form  part  of  the  German  Customs  Union,  for  goods  produced  within
or  imported  into  the  City  Republic  were  dutiable  directly  they  crossed  the
adjacent  frontiers  of  Prussia  or  Oldenburg.  Since  1888,  however,  the  industrial
importance  of  Bremen  has  rapidly  increased,  and  the  State  authorities  are  doing
their  utmost,  by  the  extension  of  the  existing  harbours  and  docks,  to  attract  capital
and  enterprise  to  the  town.  The  census  of  December,  1900,  showed  that  45'6
per  cent,  of  the  population  were  engaged  in  industry,  36*7  per  cent,  in  trade  and
commerce  (including  domestic  service),  2*2  per  cent,  in  agriculture  and  gardening,
while  the  remaining  15*5  per  cent,  represented  the  official,  professional,  and
leisured  classes.  The  local  industries  include  shipbuilding,  which  is  also  carried
on  at  Bremerhaven,  Geestemünde,  and  Vegesack  ;  engineering  works,  corn  and
rice  milling,  jute  spinning  and  weaving,  wool  combing  and  washing,  tobacco  and
cigar  manufactures,  beer  brewing  and  spirit  distilling,  oil  mills,  small  chemical
works,  timber  yards,  and  the  manufacture  of  sails,  rope,  and  ships’  tackle.  In
the  jute  factories  are  many  Poles  and  foreigners,  chiefly  women.