THE OSTERTORVIERTEL: HISTORY



The center of the Ostertorviertel was the Paulskloster (a monastery). Before 1050 Archbishop Adalbert von Bremen had founded the provost's residence St. Pauli, which he changed into a monastery of a Benedictine Order in 1131/32.

Little by little workmen, "Höker" (farmers were called so) and daylabourer,who worked for the monks, settled in the near of the monastery. In this way one of the oldest suburb of Bremen developed.

In 1523 while the reformation the monastery was pulled down, because enemy troops shouldn't have the chance to shot at the town from here. When 1628 the St.-Pauliberg, the hill on which the monastery was build, was taken down for the extension of the Ostertor-bastion, the last pieces of the old Paultown disappeared.

The Ostertorsteinweg was yet very early a important traffic connection to Hamburg, Verden and parts of central Germany, that's why it's one of the few cobbled streets in the suburb.

Beside the houses of workmen restaurants and places for relaxing settled here in order to give transients accommodation.

In the past a wooden grimace made in the 17. century hang as a demon of fright at the Ostertor and stick his tongue out when the bells of the town ring. Today the mask is in the Bremer Landesmuseum.

In the 70's the Ostertorviertel nearly fell a victim to the traffic plans,which schedule a highway through the Viertel. But the people who lived there fight as long against it until they succeeded and the orginally of this special district stayed preserved.


Previous Overview German ÖG Mail us Help Next

ssp-web@earthlingsoft.net