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Winter Sports in Bremen?
Stuck in Ice: grass on the Semkenfahrt
Winter in Bremen? Of course, it also takes place every year in the Hanseatic city, although some visitors from southern Germany might look at how it often presents itself here with a smile. As they say, one person's joy is another's sorrow. Snow? While many cyclists in this two-wheeled city think snow might be great for Christmas but then should just disappear, winter sports enthusiasts usually look disappointed into the void, because the white splendor is actually quite rare to admire in the city. It’s no surprise that especially children are already out with their sleds before the white flakes have even gathered sufficiently on the ground.In this flat landscape, every little hill is used for sledding until it’s no longer possible because the worn grass stops the fun.
Winter pports fun on two blades
An alternative winter sports program to sledding and skiing is ice skating. Even if in the Weser metropolis, as in Goethe's Faust, it often says, "Streams and brooks are freed from ice ...", the chances for a piece of smooth ice aren't so bad. And when the time comes, it lies in Blockland in the shadow of Bremen’s highest "mountain," the "Müllberg" landfill (where, by the way, Metalhenge stands), and is called Semkenfahrt.
The ice of the semkenfahrt is maintained
The roughly 30-hectare area is not a natural body of water but rather a meadow. Every year starting in November, three pumps flood the area with water from the Wümme River and keep the level constant over winter once a certain measure is reached. The ice must be at least five centimeters thick before the Ice Association opens the roughly three-kilometer-long track for skaters. Then, bike racks are ready as well as simple benches for easy shoe changes; the ice is partially swept with motor power for optimal conditions and unsafe spots marked with flags - tasks that members of the Ice Association do voluntarily. A small donation is gladly accepted at the entrance/exit because of this. If the weather cooperates, several thousand people come on weekends to go onto the track. The fun has meanwhile become a tradition, as since winter 1965/66 one could glide over the ice here, in some winters even only here, because the ice thickness on lakes and streams in the city didn’t reach a load-bearing strength.
Frozen-over lake by the observation tower in Stadtwald
If nothing works outside, the "Paradice" Ice Sports Hall in Walle offers the opportunity to get ice under your blades.
Even if the ice of artificial waters in Stadtwald or Bürgerpark might be strong enough after a long frost period, it definitely won’t be on the (Middle-)Weser, as here in 2018 at Weser Weir, because the water is in constant flow.
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Further information
Water-based activities in Bremen
Since not everyone owns a boat, it's convenient that you can easily rent canoes and kayaks—for example, at Torfhafen in the Findorff district, which borders Bürgerpark, or just beyond the city limits at Kanu-Scheune in Lilienthal, accessible by tram line 4.
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By bike from central station to Vegesack
Starting at central station, the route takes you past Bürgerweide, with its distinctive Stadthalle (City Hall), Congress Center, and exhibition halls, before continuing through Findorff along the Torfkanal. This canal, which runs along the edge of Bürgerpark and Stadtwald, was constructed between 1817 and 1826 to transport peat from Teufelsmoor near Worpswede to Bremen using peat barges.
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Stadtwald & Stadtwaldsee (urban forest & lake)
Stadtwald & Stadtwaldsee. The design of the Bürgerpark is attributed to Wilhelm Benque, who served as its director from 1866–1870 and again from 1877–1884. Carl Orth succeeded him in this role, and under his plans, construction of the Stadtwald began in 1907. The 66.5-hectare site north of the railway tracks had been donated to the Bürgerpark Association by the Bremen merchant Franz E. Schütte one year earlier.
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Metalhenge
In 2021, an observation platform was opened on the first decommissioned and surface-renovated section of the landfill in Blockland. At a height of 40 meters, the barrier-free Planet Path leads visitors along. Planets? Yes, the Metalhenge structure, inspired by the famous Stonehenge, is positioned on the circular observation platform according to selected astronomical aspects. Information about this can be accessed via QR code on your smartphone. Even for those not particularly interested, the view stretches approximately 23 km across Bremen on one side and Blockland on the other.
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