The story of this place
Bremen's Town Hall, built in Gothic style from 1405 and given a magnificent Weser Renaissance facade in 1612, is one of the few German civic halls never destroyed or structurally altered. Before it stands the Roland statue, erected in 1404, a 5.5-metre stone knight bearing the sword of justice and a shield proclaiming the city's imperial freedom from the archbishop's rule. Legend holds that as long as Roland stands, Bremen will remain free and independent, so the city secretly kept a spare Roland ready in case the original fell. The building also gave rise to the fairy tale of the Bremen Town Musicians, whose bronze statue of a stacked donkey, dog, cat and rooster nearby is rubbed for luck. Both were named UNESCO World Heritage in 2004.