BREMEN.

95

While,  however,  Bremen  is  seeking  its  fortunes  more  and  more  in
industrial  undertakings,  for  the  present  its  reputation  rests,  as  in  the  past,
upon  its  shipping  trade.  Several  great  steamship  lines  have  their  headquarters ­
  here,  the  most  notable  being  the  North  German  Lloyd,  and  Bremen’s
mercantile  marine  numbered  in  1905  629  vessels  with  a  registered  tonnage
of  695,796,  including  390  steamships  with  a  tonnage  of  517,211,  while
the  entire  mercantile  marine  of  the  Weser  numbered  906  vessels  with  a
tonnage  of  762,679,  including  491  steamships  with  a  tonnage  of  551,931.
In  that  year  4,784  ships  carried  merchandise  seawards  from  the  Weser  harbour
and  4,335  came  in,  the  outgoing  tonnage  being  3,456,045,  the  incoming
tonnage  3,350,198.  Of  the  incoming  ships  1,909,  or  44  per  cent,  (representing ­
  1^  per  cent,  of  the  tonnage),  were  from  German  ports,  and  677,  or
15*6  per  cent,  (representing  12*3  per  cent,  of  the  tonnage),  were  from  British
ports.  The  bulk  of  Bremen’s  import  trade  is  restricted  to  a  few  articles,  but  of
several  of  these  it  handles  more  than  any  other  Continental  port.  Its  imports  of
cotton  in  1905  had  a  value  of  ¿B  19,915,000,  of  wool  £5,699,000,  of  corn  and
flour  £4,608,000,  of  tobacco  and  cigars  £2,929,000,  of  rice  £1,383,000,  and  of
timber  £972,000  ;  other  articles  largely  imported  are  rice,  coffee,  cork,  indigo,
and  petroleum.  The  value  of  Bremen’s  entire  imports  in  1905  was  £67,062,940,
and  of  its  exports  £63,612,210.  Bremen  is  also  the  principal  emigration  port
of  Germany,  and  in  1905,  no  fewer  than  186,856  persons—the  great  majority
being  foreigners—were  conveyed  by  the  several  shipping  lines  engaged  in
this  trade  on  the  Weser.  Bremen’s  shipping  facilities  include  a  large  customsfree
  harbour,  2,166  yards  long  by  130  yards  wide,  situated  in  a  customs-free
area  225  acres  in  extent  ;  timber  and  factory  docks,  1,625  yards  long  by
87  yards  wide  ;  and  a  projected  industrial  and  commercial  harbour,  for  the
export  industry  especially,  which  will  be  constructed  adjacent  to  the  river  and
as  near  to  the  town  as  possible,  will  consist  of  a  long  basin  with  five  docks  from
368  to  1,190  yards  long.
Among  the  public  services  owned  and  managed  by  the  municipality  are
the  water  works,  gas  works,  and  electricity  works,  but  the  tramways  are  in
private  hands.  The  extensive  harbours  and  docks  at  Bremen,  Vegesack  and
Bremerhaven  belong  to  the  State  of  Bremen.
Bremen  gives  the  impression  of  a  well-toido  commercial  town.  Although
there  has  been  much  rebuilding  during  recent  years,  especially  in  the  centre,
the  past  and  its  memorials  have  been  respected.  The  old  Merchants’  Guild
House  (now  used  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce),  the  Gewerbehaus  or  Industrial
Hall  (originally  the  Cloth  Hall,  or  home  of  the  Guild  of  Cloth  Merchants),  the
Rathaus  or  Town  Hall,  and  the  old  Corn  House  are  among  the  monuments  of
Bremen’s  great  days  as  a  Hansa  City,  and  other  relics  of  the  past  are  seen
in  the  half-timber-work  buildings,  primitive  in  structure  and  dilapidated  within
and  without,  which  still  stand  in  busy  streets.  The  aspect  of  many  of  the
streets,  in  the  "  New  Town  ”  especially,  is  made  picturesque  by  the  diversity  of
their  architecture.  Old  and  new  houses  of  various  styles  and  sizes  alternate,
most  of  them  consisting  of  one  or  two  stories,  and  nearly  all  being  roofed  with
red  tiles.  At  Bremen’s  very  door  one  comes  across  thatched  cottages  and  in  the
centre  of  the  town  windmills  are  preserved  in  working  order,  though  more
for  ornament  than  utility.
Though  the  town  has  both  an  "  Old”  and  a  "  New  down,  the  areas  so
described  only  contain  15  per  cent,  of  the  total  population,  nor  does  the
“New  Town”  represent  modern  Bremen,  which  must  rather  be  sought  in
the  suburbs.  The  Weser  intersects  the  town,  cutting  off  the  “  New  Town  ”
and  several  other  wards  from  the  rest  of  the  municipal  area,  but  the  population ­
  across  the  river  only  forms  23  per  cent,  of  the  whole.  There  are
a  few  factories  in  the  town,  but  more  characteristic  of  Bremen  s  commercial
position  are  the  “Packhäuser”  or  warehouses  which  line  the  river  banks,
tall  brick  buildings  rising  to  a  height  of  five  and  even  seven  stories.
These  warehouses  are  in  part  used  for  cotton,  tobacco,  wool  and  rice,
but  the  bulk  of  Bremen’s  merchandise  is  stored  at  the  various  docks.
Most  of  the  streets  are  narrow,  save  in  the  suburos,  where  space  has  not  oeen
economised  so  rigidly,  but  small  parks  and  (areas  either  planted  with
trees  or  laid  out  as  gardens)  are  not  wanting.  The  only  areas  that  suggest
congestion  are  the  "Gänge”  or  passages*  which  are  a  peculiarity  of  Bremen,

*  See  infra,  "  Housing  and  Rents.”