BREMEN, one of the three free cities of the new German empire, is situated on the River Weser, about 50 miles from the sea and 60 S.W of Hamburg. The latitude of the observatory is 53 c 4' 36" N., and the longitude 8° 48' 54" E. The city consists of three parts—the old town (Alt Stadt) and its suburban extensions (Vorstadt) on the right bank of the river, and the new town, dating from the Thirty Years’ War, on the left. The riveris crossed by three bridges, of which the last was built in 1874-5. The ramparts of the old town have long been converted into beautiful promenades and gardens, but both the old and the new town are still surrounded with moats. The area of the whole city is great in proportion to its population, the houses in general being built to contain only one family. The public buildings, situated chiefly in the old town, comprise the following :—the cathedral, erected in the 12th century, on the site of Charlemagne’s wooden church, and famous for its Bleikeller, or lead-vault, in which bodies may be kept a long time without suffering decomposition; the church of St Ansgarius, built about 1243, with a spire 400 feet high; the liathhaus, a building of the early part of the 15 th century, with a celebrated underground winecellar; the town-house, formerly the archiépiscopal palace, and converted to its present uses only in 1819; the Schütting, or merchant’s hall, originally built in 1619 for the guild of cloth-traders; the exchange, completed in 1867; the theatre; the town library; the high-school, a quite recent erection; and the new post-office buildings. St Rembert’s church and the colosseum may be mentioned in the Vorstadt; and the barracks in the new town. At the head of the monetary establishments stands the Bremer Bank, which was founded ...

BREMER, Fredrika, the most celebrated Swedish novelist, was born near Abo, in Finland, on the 17th August 1801. Her father, a descendant of an old German family, was a wealthy iron master and merchant. He left Finland when Fredrika was three years old, and after a year’s residence in Stockholm, purchased an estate at Arsta, about 20 miles from the capital. There, with occasional visits to Stockholm and to a neighbouring estate, which belonged for a time to her father, Fredrika passed her time till 1820. The education to which she and her sisters were subjected was unusually strict; their parents, especially their father, were harsh and took little or no pains to understand the temperaments of the children. The constant repression, the sense of being misunderstood, and the apparent aimlessness of such an existence told with greatest force upon Fredrika, who was of a quick and eager disposition, fond of praise and conscious of powers which it seemed to her must lie for ever unused. She felt as if her life were being wasted; there was nothing on which she could expend her energy; no career was open to a woman. Her health began to give way; and in 1821 the whole family set out for the south of France. They travelled slowly by way of Germany and Switzerland, and returned by Paris and the Netherlands. It was shortly after this time that Miss Bremer became acquainted with Schiller’s poetical works, which made a very deep impression on her. Her home life, however, was still unsatisfying, and in her passionate longing for some work to which she could devote herself, and through which she might do some good in the world, she for a time resolved to join one of the Stockholm hospitals as a nurse. This plan was given up on the entreaty of her sister. Meanwhile, she had found ...

BREMERHAVEN- , a seaport town belonging to the free city of Bremen, on the right bank of the Weser at the mouth of the Geest, in 53° 32' N. lat. and 8° 34' E. long. It is built on a piece of ground surrendered to Bremen in 1827 by Hanover, and increased by treaty with Prussia in 1869. The port was opened in 1830, and there are now, besides an excellent harbour, four large wet docks, five dry docks, hydraulic cranes, and lines of railway running along the quays. The entrance is free from ice nearly all the year round, even when the other ports of the neighbouring coasts are closed, and vessels drawiug 22 feet can enter safely. The town is rapidly extending and will soon be united with Geestemünde. Among its public buildings the most remarkable is the great hospitium for emigrants, erected in 1830, which can accommodate 2500 persons. The Hanoverian fort and batteries, which formerly protected the town, have been removed, and their place is supplied by similar works farther down. The population, which in 1850 was only 3500, amounted in 1871 to 10,596.