Bremen

also Brémy

Federal Republic of Germany. The metropolis of the smallest of the German states – the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, comprising Bremen itself and the nearby port of Bremerhaven.

The original settlement founded at the mouth of the Weser on the North Sea became a bishopric in the 8^th century. The township’s importance began to grow in the 9^th century, when the archbishopric was moved from nearby Hamburg. Bremen received its charter as a town in 1186 from Frederick I, a step which enabled its further economic development. In the 16^th century the citizens of Bremen attached themselves to the reformation movement, and in 1646 Bremen was declared a city-state. From 1815, as the Free Hanseatic City, it was a member of the German Federation, and since 1920 has been one of the Läender of Germany.

Comenius visited Bremen on his journey from London to Elbląg in 1642.