Domsheide is a major square in the city of Bremen, Germany. It is located east of the

Marktplatz A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

and south of

Bremen Cathedral Bremen Cathedral (german: Bremer Dom or St. Petri Dom zu Bremen), dedicated to St. Peter, is a church situated in the market square in the center of Bremen. The cathedral belongs to the Bremian Evangelical Church, a member of the Protestant umbre ...

. Streets leading to it include Ostertorstraße, Dechanatstraße, Balgebrückstraße and Violenstraße. It contains a number of important buildings, including the main post office, the courthouse, the cathedral precinct with the bell, and the annex to the stock market building. It is one of three main hubs of the public transport network, with most tram routes and two important bus lines crossing the square. The design of the Domsheide is relatively uneven, characterized by materials such as sandstone, dark red brick, red and yellow clinkers, render, concrete and marble.

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the open area south of the cathedral was known as ''Wulverickesheide'' (Wulverick Heath), probably from the name of the owner, Wulverick. Later, it was simply known as ''Heide'' and from the 16th century as ''Domsheide'' (Cathedral Heath), no doubt because the archbishop held court there under a

lime tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they ...

. The Domsheide belonged to the ''Dombezirk'' (Cathedral District), an enclave which until 1803 was under the sovereign and legal control of the

Bishop of Bremen This list records the bishops of the Roman Catholic diocese of Bremen (german: link=no, Bistum Bremen), supposedly a suffragan of the Archbishopric of Cologne, then of the bishops of Bremen, who were in personal union archbishops of Hamburg (sim ...

, not the Free City of Bremen. The small Cathedral District was originally surrounded by a wall which was torn down in the 11th century. ''Die Glocke'' (The Bell), an octagonal bell-shaped building belonging to the cathedral chapter, stood south of the cathedral in the Middle Ages. It was the venue for the meetings of the chapter and, from 1648, for the deliberations of the court. In 1737, a new octagonal building was constructed on the site, coming under the authority of the City of Bremen in 1803. Since 1857, it has belonged to the ''Künstlerverein'' (Artists Association). In 1642, the ''Kapitelhaus'' (Chapter House) to the south of the cathedral became the Lutheran Grammar School or the ''Domschule und Athenaeum Bremen''. Die Glocke

18th to 20th century

In 1733, the area was levelled, fenced in and planted. It was only at the beginning of the 19th century that buildings began to be constructed around the square. In 1856, a monument to Gustav Adolph was erected in the centre of the square but was destroyed for scrap in 1942. The bronze statue was actually intended to be installed in Gothenburg but came back to Bremen after a shipwreck. A second cast was then made for the Swedes. Until 1872, the Debbersche Knaben-Vorschule (a boys primary school) stood on the site where the post office was constructed in 1875. Initially known as the ''Kaiserliche Oberpostdirektion'', the Bremen Main Post Office Building was designed by the Berlin architect Carl Schwatlo (1831–1884). Kaiserliche Oberpostdirektion In 1895, designed by Ludwig Klingenberg (1840–1924) in the

French Renaissance The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define th ...

style, the Bremen Court House (''Landgericht Bremen'') was completed. It suffered only slight war damage in 1944. Gerichtsgebäude und Untersuchungsgefängnis After a fire in 1915, the old ''Glocke'' building was demolished, making way for a new concert hall building with the same name designed by Walter Görig (1885–1974) and completed in 1928. Its elegant art deco design and excellent acoustics have been praised by a number of artists including

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

Anne-Sophie Mutter Anne-Sophie Mutter (born 29 June 1963) is a German violinist. She was supported early in her career by Herbert von Karajan. As an advocate of contemporary music, she has had several works composed especially for her, by Sebastian Currier, Henri ...

and

Gidon Kremer Gidon Kremer ( lv, Gidons Krēmers; born 27 February 1947) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica. Life and career Gidon Kremer was born in Riga. His father was Jewish and had survived the Holo ...

Listed buildings

A number of listed buildings are located on the Domsheide: * Börsenhof A, located at Number 5a, Am Dom, the semicircular building with a glazed upper floor was an annex to the New Stock Exchange designed by

Heinrich Müller Heinrich Müller may refer to: * Heinrich Müller (cyclist) (born 1926), Swiss cyclist * Heinrich Müller (footballer, born 1888) (1888–1957), Swiss football player and manager * Heinrich Müller (footballer, born 1909) (1909–2000), Austrian ...

and completed in 1864. *Pfarrhaus der St. Petri-Domgemeinde (Rectory of St Peter's Cathedral). Located at Number 2, Domsheide, a Neoclassical building designed by Johann Hinrich Schröder in 1845 *Haus Kulenkampff & Johannisloge "Zum Ölzweig", located at Number 3, Domsheide, a residential building in the

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

style, designed by Johann Hinrich Schröder in 1848 Haus Kulenkampff & Johannisloge "Zum Ölzweig" *''Die Glocke'', located at Numbers 6, 7 & 8, Domsheide, concert hall *''Kaiserliche Oberpostdirektion'' (Post Office), located at Number 15, Domsheide *''Gerichtsgebäude und Untersuchungsgefängnis'' (Court House), located at Number 16, Domsheide

Gallery

File:Börsenhof A - Bremen, Am Dom 5A.jpg, Börsenhof A File:Pfarrhaus der St. Petri-Domgemeinde - Bremen, Domsheide 2.jpg, Pfarrhaus File:Haus Kulenkampff - Bremen, Domsheide 3.jpg, Haus Kulenkampff File:DieGlocke-01.jpg, Die Glocke File:Bremen aerial view 18.JPG, Post Office File:HB 2016-0607 photo07 Landgericht.jpg, Court House

References

External links

Plan
at Meinestadt.de {{Bremen Squares in Bremen (city)