Even as Bremen grew into one of the largest cities of Germany, it preserved its historic color. The spires of the Cathedral of St. Peter, begun in the 11th century, long dominated the commercial district. Other outstanding features in the Old Town include the Gothic Town Hall, with its Renaissance facade and a picturesque row of old, gabled houses.

During World War II the harbor and many other parts of Bremen were virtually destroyed by more than 100 Allied air raids. By 1960, however, the docks and much of the city had been rebuilt, and Bremen again was a center of industry and world trade.

Most of Bremen's cultural facilities are located in the Schnoorviertel, a district in the Old Town that was restored to its original 16th- and 17th-century appearance in the postwar reconstruction. There are numerous theaters, libraries, museums, archives, and art galleries. Near the Town Hall is a statue of the animals from the German fable “The Bremen Town Musicians.” Bremen's best-known parks are the Bürgerpark, with its famous rhododendron gardens, and the former ramparts, which were demolished in 1802 and which now form promenades surrounding the Old Town. A modern parliament building has been constructed in the Old Town.

Major industrial products include machinery, steel, aerospace equipment, engines, electric and electronic equipment, processed food, and textiles. Bremen is a financial center and houses banks and insurance companies as well as a stock exchange. It is also a processing center for imported goods such as cotton, grain, wool, tobacco, timber, and coffee. Bremen is often the site of international congresses.

Electric passenger trains and motorways link Bremen with Germany's major cities. The Bremen airport has direct flights to London and Amsterdam, as well as to other German cities. The port is kept open by icebreakers during the winter. It is connected with major European inland waterways via the Coastal, Middle Weser, and Mittelland canals.

Bremen and the nearby port of Bremerhaven form the German state of Bremen, 156 square miles (404 square kilometers) in area. Bremen and Bremerhaven have respective areas of 125 square miles (324 square kilometers) and 31 square miles (80 square kilometers).

By AD 787 Bremen was important enough that a missionary bishop, Willehad, chose the town as his see, or seat of authority. In 1346 Bremen established its independence and joined the Hanseatic League (see Hanseatic League). In 1646 Ferdinand III, the Holy Roman emperor, named it a free imperial city.

In 1827 Bremen became the first German community to make a treaty of trade and friendship with the United States. In the same year the city founded Bremerhaven at the Weser's mouth to receive vessels too large to sail upstream. Bremen became Europe's chief port for emigrants and a major market for tobacco and other American products. In 1871 the free city joined the German empire. Population (1999), city, 542,300; (2000) state, 663,100.