Streets of Das Viertel
Bremen is one of the few German cities that did not have to choose after the World War II between memory and modernization (aluminum + slums now in fashion) . With financial aid, it rebuilt its delicate old town and over time it has been able to channel, legalize and solidify gentrification in Days Viertel , his wayward neighborhood. And the best thing is that it is reached almost without realizing it and is assimilated not as an isolated phenomenon, but as an inseparable and attractive part of the city.
a straight , a small downhill separates the monumental center from Das Viertel. It is not a negligible journey, on the sides you leave the great theater, the museum of fine arts and the park that marks the route of the old wall. But today let's get carried away by gravity and inertia. This very slight slope meant an abyss in the history of the city due to the low altitude of Bremen (12 meters above sea level). The low elevation with respect to sea level and with respect to the river weser it meant that for centuries Das Viertel was nothing more than a quagmire partially occupied by farms.
Streets of Das Viertel, the alternate neighborhood of Bremen
The need for space for this city-state meant that in the 19th century it was drained, made habitable and handsome thanks to the money invested by craftsmen and petty bourgeois who opened streets at will and imposed a historicist architectural style, without too much mannerism or grandiloquence. They didn't even give the place a name, they just decided to refer to it as Das Viertel, which roughly translates to ' The district'.
Street markets in Das Viertel
The golden age lasted a sigh. The wars, the bombings and the unanimous decision to invest the money in recovering the historic center of a city that they came to call ' The Rome of the North ' left Das Viertel in the hands of rot. But for artists, students and teachers it became a very powerful magnet due to the low rental prices, despite being just 5 minutes from the heart of Bremen. Over time they rehabilitated the houses, they looked better than ever to today exhibit themselves in good condition and be the perfect piece of a city with two faces, yes, but they get along well with each other.
Northern Germany is plagued by gentrified neighborhoods where tourists are not welcome as the authentic and the creative should not be confused and the streets should not be turned into a zoo. Well, it's fair, let's not blame anyone for not wanting to be part of a Big Brother full of SLR cameras and foreign languages. But Das Viertel is surprising for not being like that, for taking more than 20 years loving himself and being accepted by Bremen as the cheese on their macaroni. In addition to total integration with the city, these are the keys to its success:
Urban art in the streets of the Das Viertel neighborhood
URBAN ART
Because Das Viertel is not just a party and alternative social groups. It has become a urban art museum where graffiti puts the icing on the cake to streets that would only be photogenic in black and white and against the light. Let the colors live! And more since the neighbors discovered that graffiti with graffiti is avoided, making their houses authentic works of art. The unwritten rule that you should not step on another artist's work is the trigger point for psychedelic garages like the one at the Lagerhaus cultural center or the colorful houses of Schildstrasse . The longing for nature makes many facades recreate fields and meadows from the childhood of the owners, although others painted are made for the pure pleasure of attracting attention, such as that of the Beatles in Charlottenstrasse wave of Spiderman getting rid of some metal chains on the side of the bar Eisen while he asserts that he doesn't like iron (the funny thing is that Eisen means iron).
Helenstrasse, the first street dedicated to prostitution in Bremen
BRUSH STROKE OF HISTORY
Das Viertel has earned credibility and respect for having been participant in the history of the city. in the dens of Bernhardstrasse he cooked May 68 bremense while the neighbors begged for silence (and continue to do so). The only bank that is allowed in the entire neighborhood is the local savings bank, which achieved this deference by having financed the reconstruction of the city. And though sordid Helenstrasse it is also historical. We are before the first street dedicated to prostitution in the whole country. But beware, here the prostitutes enjoyed certain privileges such as medical care, police surveillance (there was a police station on the corner of the entrance) and the freedom to practice their profession. Today an explicit metal wall covers their access, prohibited for women who are not relatives of the professionals.
Creativity and originality stand out in the neighborhood
ASSOCIATED ALTERNATISM
Das Viertel is one of the few neighborhoods that has its own website. This is the tip of the iceberg of an association that has been bringing together the owners of shops, bars and clubs in the neighborhood for decades. From this organization they promote Das Viertel as if it were a shopping center, but with the peculiarities of a place that is committed to creativity, small business and originality. As assured Anne-Catherine Caesar, coordinator of the association, "here a Starbucks would not succeed". And nobody is talking about illegal boycotts, rather that it doesn't hit, that failure is guaranteed. The stores that have emerged over the years do not convey the feeling of being a flower of a day, but winning bets. The windows of some like Möwis Keramik could be in the best perpendicular streets. That is creativity is not the same as cutesy.
You will get lost among the cafes of Ostertorsteinweg
FASTFOODISM, CAFE AND MARKET
For some strange reason, every gentrified neighborhood begins with a more or less rigged coffee shop. In Das Viertel there are plenty of them, of all colors, with all kinds of furniture, colored chairs and sweet companions to have a relaxing cup with milk in conditions without missing the Plaza Mayor. The food is marked by all kinds of well-understood fast food, with international cuisines, cheap and open at all hours. Because here there are no schedules, rather cravings, gluttony and endless supply. In just 10 meters you travel around the world going from terrace to terrace on the street Ostertorsteinweg . The healthiest counterpoint is provided by the markets that are organized in each small square. They give color, greengrocery, joy and familiarity to the street.
The law of Bremen, enjoy the bars to the fullest
NON-STOP NIGHTS
And here comes the supine joy: the law in Bremen obliges gambling dens to close one hour a day (As minimum) . In other words, revelry takes over the veins of Das Viertel as soon as the bicycles are parked, generating anticipation and expectations. Here the options of getting lucky (as Daft Punk would say) in classic jazz clubs like Lila Eule or voluntarily getting disoriented in the one known as Bermuda Triangle , a block with bars like the Bermuda , the heart breaker or the Capri where Happy Hours go on non-stop.
Urban art in the streets of the Das Viertel neighborhood