exploring Bremen & its surrounding areas
You are here: worth seeing in the surroundings
Stade - on the banks of the Schwinge (4/6)
From the Pferdemarkt (horse market) through the alleys back to the Hansehafen
Sculpture "Die Wachenden" (1986) by Carsten Eggers at the corner of Holzstraße/Breite Straße. The shopping street Holzstraße branches off from the Pferdemarkt.
Quiet retreat on one side, bustling activity on the other - whoever turns from Poststraße into street Goos arrives at the Pferdemarkt, the largest market square in the city center. Here, alongside the central bus station, a weekly market takes place, but even without market activities, there’s almost always something going on, partly due to the shopping opportunities nearby.
View of a shop window display
One of the most striking buildings at the square is certainly the Old Post Office. However, after its gutting and subsequent conversion into office and commercial spaces between 2006 and 2008, only the protected façade made of red brick was preserved. The building, erected around 1900, stands out particularly due to its corner tower, which was topped with a stylized steel dome during the renovation. Modern, yet somehow fitting.
Has posted itself, at least with stamps: the Old Post Office
Diagonally opposite, on one edge of the square, the wet element especially attracts smaller children. The round fountain embedded in the pavement is also really pleasant to look at. On one of the natural stones lining most of the edge sits a bronze-cast fisherman gazing at a fish on the water’s surface in the middle of the "The Fisherman and His Wife" fountain. For those who don’t know: "The Fisherman and His Wife" is a Low German fairy tale by Philipp Otto Runge, an early Romantic painter, which the Brothers Grimm included in their collection. One section remains level with the ground, so cooling off your feet on hot days is explicitly allowed? However it may be. Those who don’t want to can find a spot on one of the benches right next to it.
There he sits by the chamber pot and talks to the flatfisch
By contrast, the only older historical building at the square is rather unobtrusive: the armory from Sweden’s time under King Karl XII (also Carolus Rex), then a large structure within the city fortifications. Although the inscription on the sandstone round arch portal - the sole architectural ornament - reads "Anno 1698," the three-aisled hall inside was not usable for the garrison until the following year. Until 1919, the premises were used militarily; they stood empty at times or later served civilian purposes, as they do today.
More than a thousand times stepped on while the archbishop’s remains rested underground: on the occasion of the celebration of 1000 years of Stade, among other things, this plate was embedded in the pavement of the Pferdemarkt
However, archaeological discoveries in 1993 give the building another significance. The city archaeology uncovered the final resting place of Bremen’s Archbishop Gottfried von Arnsberg (†1363). Although he was officially archbishop in the Hanseatic city on the Weser, he became involved first in the Bremen Archbishops' Feud and then in the Hoya Feud. In the latter armed conflict, the bishop sided with Count Gerhard III of Hoya against Bremen. He spent most of his tenure in Hoya or Stade. After the conflict was settled in 1359, his time as archbishop also ended. After his death in exile, he was buried in what was then Stade’s largest church, St. George’s Church. The exposed foundation remains of the sacred building show that parts of the church, destroyed in a city fire, were later overbuilt by the armory. The uncovered finds can be viewed today in the basement.
Café on "Steile Straße"
At the edge of the Pferdemarkt, it descends via Steile Straße (steep street). The name says it all - once again, one can physically experience here, not just through measurement but on one’s own body, how different the elevation levels of the old residential and working districts are, connected by medieval streets, alleys, and narrow passages in Stade’s historic city center. But from a tourist perspective, must one have been here at least once? No, unless you’re interested in the Hahnentor. At least in passing, because that’s all that’s possible - other than walking through the ground-floor exit to today’s car-free Kalkmühlenstraße.
Hahnentor
The gable-end timber-framed house was built in 1658, as can be read on the lintel supported by tie beams - a year before the city fire. The two-story building survived the fire as one of few structures but later threatened to collapse. That it is habitable again today is due to a thorough renovation starting in the mid-90s. Stepping into the gate passage and looking up, you see the clay wattle-and-daub ceiling. Clay mixed with straw was once a widely used material, especially in timber-framed house construction. The mixture was introduced wet into the spaces between the beam structure and became firm and durable after drying. Unlike later-used fired bricks, the material was locally available in large quantities and affordable.
Gable-end house on Bäckerstraße
Even older and more beautiful to behold is the gable-end house at Bäckerstraße 1 and 3. Following the street’s course from the Hahnentor to its end and turning right, you inevitably pass by this very attractively restored three-story double house from 1590. Looking closely in the entrance area, you can see that today’s double house was originally a single house. Like many parts of the timber framing, the original front door is adorned with wood carvings and color accents, while the later-installed left one is simpler. The size of the house and the craftsmanship details such as the numerous colorful fan rosettes above the entrance area reflect the prosperity of the merchants in the textile trade or tailors in the textile-processing industry at that time.
Double door of the gable-end house
Just a few steps further lead back to Hökerstraße, and if you wish, to the Hansehafen. You can do this, but you don’t have to. It’s worth simply spontaneously turning from main paths into small alleys and exploring the historic city center without a plan. There are nearly 400 listed buildings in the city - not everything is pleasant to look at, and not everything that is pleasant to look at is protected. And there are many small shops with lovingly decorated windows as well as almost countless cafés and restaurants where you can stop according to your own taste.
View into an alley
Map
Further information
STADE Marketing and Tourism GmbH
Hansestraße 16
D-21682 Stade
Email: info@stade-tourismus.de
Website: www.stade-tourismus.de
Phone: +049 (0) 4141 77698-0
Tourist Information at the Harbor
Opening Hours: April to October: Mon–Fri 10 AM – 6 PM; Sat, Sun & Holidays 10 AM – 3 PM, November to March: Mon–Fri 10 AM – 5 PM, Sat 10 AM – 3 PM, Sun & Holidays closed
Schwedenspeicher
Wasser West 39
D-21682 Stade
Phone: +49 (0) 4141 79 773 0
Email: info@museen-stade.de
Website: www.museen-stade.de
Opening Hours: Tue–Fri 10 AM – 5 PM, Sat & Sun 10 AM – 6 PM
Kunsthaus
Wasser West 7
D-21682 Stade
Phone: +49 (0) 4141 79 773 20
Email: info@museen-stade.de
Website: www.museen-stade.de
Opening Hours: Tue, Thu, Fri 10 AM – 5 PM, Wed 10 AM – 7 PM, Sat & Sun 10 AM – 6 PM, closed during exhibition changes!
Verein Alter Hafen Stade e.V.
Phone: Gerd Becker +49 (0) 4141 4123255 or +49 (0)151 10974508
Email: becker1959@gmail.com
Website: www.greundiek.de
Kunstverein Stade e. V.
Website: www.kunstvereinstade.de
Heimatmuseum
Inselstraße 12
D-21682 Stade
Phone: +49 (0) 4141 79 773 40
Email:
info@museen-stade.de
Website:
www.museen-stade.de/heimatmuseum
Opening Hours: closed for renovation
SUP CLUB Stade: Rentals, courses, canoe, kayak, pedal boat, BBQ
Salztorswall 8
D-21682 Stade
Phone: +49 (0)1514 2898283
Arrival
The advantages of traveling by car from Bremen are limited. While there are several parking garages to park your vehicle near the city center, the train station is also just a five-minute walk from the city center. At the station, you need to change trains in Hamburg. The regional trains run more frequently, so you don't have to rely on specific connections. With a Niedersachsenticket (valid from 9 AM until 3 AM the next day), you can freely choose your connections for an entire day (round trip excluded IC and ICE). Buses and trams operated by Bremer Straßenbahn AG (BSAG) are also freely usable with the Niedersachsenticket.
Bremerhaven in general
Bremerhaven was only founded in 1827. To secure its status as a port city amid the threat of the Weser - Bremen's lifeline - silting up, Bremen purchased 342 acres of land at the mouth of the Weser from the Kingdom of Hanover for 74,000 talers under then-mayor Johann Smidt. About 60 kilometers downstream from Bremen, this became the site of the first urgently needed seaport built by Bremen, known as the Alter Hafen (Old Harbor), completed by 1830.
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Bremerhaven - Zoo am Meer (Zoo by the Sea)
In addition to the 19th-century harbor facilities, the Zoo am Meer is the oldest attraction on the site between the Weser River and the pedestrian zone. It opened in 1928 under the name "Tiergrotten." The enclosures house polar bears, seals, penguins, various bird species such as gannets and keas, reptiles like turtles, raccoons, Arctic foxes, pumas, monkeys, and others - almost 50 animal species in total.
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Bremerhaven Havenwelten
Since early 2008, Bremerhaven has not only had a new tallest building but also a new landmark in its Weser-side skyline with the ATLANTIC Hotel SAIL City, which rises 147 meters directly behind the Weserdeich. Architecturally, the structure perfectly embodies a maritime city - it stands like a powerful, rounded ship's superstructure. On the 20th floor, at a height of 77 meters, there is an observation deck (SAIL City) that is also accessible to non-guests.
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Bremerhaven - Überseehafen (Overseas Port)
In addition to the Old Harbor (now the Museum Harbor), which was the first to be built, other ports were later added. Adjacent to the New Harbor lies Kaiserhafen I, the first in a series of additional harbor basins. Even a glance into this initial section of the expansive port area reveals a different world of maritime activity - one of large ships. And we will see even larger ones along the five-kilometer-long quay on the Weser.
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Bremerhaven - Schaufenster Fischereihafen (Fishery Harbor Showcase)
Away from the Havenwelten and older than both the Emigration Center and Klimahaus is the "Fishery Harbor Showcase." In fact, the Fishery Harbor was originally Geestemünde's deep-sea fishing harbor, built between 1891 and 1896. After a period of decline and decay - including partial demolitions - the idea emerged to transform the area into a maritime experience world. In 1990, efforts began to restore Fish Packing Hall IV, the oldest surviving hall, which had been slated for demolition just shortly before.
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Cuxhaven - a day trip
Many people from Bremen consider the seaside resorts of Cuxhaven to be "their home beach." The coastal city at the mouth of the Elbe is easily accessible from Bremen by car via the A27, which passes by Bremen and Bremerhaven before ending in Cuxhaven. By train, the journey takes a bit longer with a transfer in Bremerhaven. However, even in the off-season, Cuxhaven with its seaside resorts is a great destination for an outing - for example, by bicycle.
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Brake & the River Island of Harriersand
As soon as spring arrives and the temperatures reach around 20 degrees, many Northern Germans are drawn to the North Sea coast. The main attraction? A beach to lie in the sun and sand for children to dig and build castles. This also draws many people from Bremen to the highways heading north on warm weekends, equipped with bags packed and picnic baskets ready for a day of seaside relaxation. But why travel far when the nearest beach is just around the corner? A visit to Brake and Harriersand proves that.
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Walsrode World Bird Park
The name "Weltvogelpark" (World Bird Park) sounds ambitious, but in fact, the park in the Lüneburg Heath is the largest of its kind worldwide and has only carried the addition "Welt" ("World") since 2010. Over 4,000 birds, including many rare species, live on the 24-hectare site, representing around 650 different bird species from all continents. The bird park was founded in 1962 as a private breeding station and later expanded into a full-fledged park. It is highly recommended as a family-friendly day trip.
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Artists' colony & peasant village: Fischerhude
Signposts make it clear to every previously unaware visitor that this place differs significantly from many other traditionally agricultural villages. Fischerhude is hip. Numerous cafés and restaurants, ceramics studios, art galleries, a local history museum, the Modersohn Museum, and more vie for the favor of an audience that is sometimes more and sometimes less interested in art but regularly strolls through Fischerhude in large numbers.
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