Coordinates	29°57′53″N90°4′14″N
Name	Bremen
Art	Stadt
Image photo	Bremen-rathaus-dom-buergerschaft.jpg
Wappen	Bremen Wappen(Mittel).svg
Lat deg	53 | lat_min 4 | lat_sec 33
Lon deg	8 | lon_min 48 | lon_sec 27
Bundesland	Bremen
Landkreis	urban
Höhe	12
Fläche	326.73
Area metro	11627
Einwohner	548477
Pop metro	2,400,000
Stand	2006-11-01
Plz	28001–28779
Vorwahl	0421
Kfz	HB (with 1 to 2 letters and 1 to 3 digits)
Gemeindeschlüssel	04 0 11 000
Locode	DE BRE
Gliederung	5 boroughs, 18 districts, 89 subdistricts
Website	Bremen online
Bürgermeister	Jens Böhrnsen
Bürgermeistertitel	First mayor
Partei	SPD
Ruling party1	SPD |ruling_party2 Green |ruling_party3 }}

The City Municipality of Bremen (, ) is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area (2.4 million people). Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.

Bremen is some south from the Weser mouth on the North Sea. With Bremerhaven right on the mouth the two comprise the state of Bremen (official name: ''Freie Hansestadt Bremen'' - ''Free Hanseatic City of Bremen'').

History

In 150 AD the geographer Ptolemy refers to ''Fabiranum'' or ''Phabiranum'', known today as Bremen. At that time the Chauci lived in the area now called north-western Germany or Lower Saxony. By the end of the 3rd century, they had merged with the Saxons. During the Saxon Wars (772–804) the Saxons, led by Widukind, fought against the West Germanic Franks, the founders of the Carolingian Empire and lost the war.

Charlemagne, the King of the Franks, made a new law, the Lex Saxonum. This law stated that Saxons were not allowed to worship Odin (the god of the Saxons), but rather that they had to convert to Christianity on pain of death. This period was called the Christianisation. In 787 Willehad of Bremen was the first Bishop of Bremen. In 848 the diocese of Hamburg merged with the diocese of Bremen, and in the following centuries the bishops of Bremen were the driving force behind the Christianisation of north Germany. In 888 Archbishop Rimbert, managed to get Kaiser Arnulf of Carinthia, the Carolingian King of East Francia, to grant Bremen the right to hold its own markets, to mint its own coins and make its own customs laws.

The first stone city walls were built in 1032. Around this time trade with Norway, England and the northern Netherlands began to grow, thus increasing the importance of the city.

In 1186 the Bremian Prince-Archbishop Hartwig of Uthlede and his bailiff in Bremen confirmed — without generally waiving the prince-archiepiscopal overlordship over the city — the Gelnhausen Privilege, by which Frederick I ''Barbarossa'' granted the city considerable privileges. The city was recognised as a political entity with its own laws. Property within the municipal boundaries could not be subjected to feudal overlordship; this also applied to serfs who acquired property, if they managed to live in the city for a year and a day, after which they were to be regarded as free persons. Property was to be freely inherited without feudal claims for reversion to its original owner. This privilege laid the foundation for Bremen's later status of imperial immediacy (Free Imperial City).

In fact, however, Bremen did not have complete independence from the Prince-Archbishops, in that there was no freedom of religion, and burghers were still forced to pay taxes to the Prince-Archbishops. Bremen played a double role; it participated in the Diets of the neighbouring Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen as part of the Bremian Estates and paid its share of taxes, at least when it had previously consented to this levy. Since the city was the major taxpayer, its consent was generally sought. In this way the city wielded fiscal and political power within the Prince-Archbishopric, while not allowing the Prince-Archbishopric to rule in the city against its consent. In 1260 Bremen joined the Hanseatic League.

Advent of territorial power

In 1350 the number of inhabitants reached 20,000. Around this time the ''Hansekogge'' (cog ship) became a unique product of Bremen.

In 1362 representatives of Bremen rendered homage to Albert II, Prince-Archbishop of Bremen in Langwedel. In return Albert confirmed the city's privileges and brokered a peace between the city and Gerard III, Count of Hoya, who since 1358 had held some burghers of Bremen in captivity. The city had to bail them out. In 1365 an extra tax, levied to finance the ransom, caused an uprising amongst the burghers and artisans which was put down by the city council after much bloodshed.

In 1366 Albert II tried to take advantage of the dispute between Bremen's council and the guilds, whose members had expelled some city councillors from the city. When these councillors appealed to Albert II for help, many artisans and burghers regarded this as treason against the city. This appeal to the princes would only provoke them to abolish autonomy of the city.

The fortified city maintained its own guards, not allowing prince-archiepiscopal soldiers to enter it. The city reserved an extra very narrow gate, the so-called ''Bishop's Needle'' (, first mentioned in 1274), for all clergy including the Prince-Archbishop. The narrowness of the gate made it technically impossible to enter accompanied by knights.

Nevertheless, on the night of May 29, 1366 Albert's troops helped by some burghers invaded the city. After this the city had to render him homage again, the Bremen Roland, symbol of the city's autonomy, was demolished and a new city council was appointed. In return the new council granted Albert a credit amounting to the enormous sum of 20,000 Bremian Marks.

But city councillors of the previous council, who had fled to the County of Oldenburg gained the support of the Counts and recaptured the city on June 27, 1366. The members of the intermediate council were regarded as traitors and beheaded, and the city de facto regained its autonomy. Thereupon, the city of Bremen, which had for a long time held an autonomous status, acted almost in complete independence of the Prince-Archbishop. Albert failed to reduce the city of Bremen a second time, since he was always short of money and without the support of his family, the Welfs, who fought the Lüneburg War of Succession (1370–88).

By the end of the 1360s Bremen had granted credits to Albert II, to finance his lavish lifestyle, and gained in return the fortress of Vörde and the dues levied in the bailiwick belonging to it as a pawn for the credits. In 1369 Bremen again lent money to Albert II against the collateral of his mint and his right to mint coins, which was from then on run by the city council. In 1377 Bremen bought — from Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg — many of the prince-archiepiscopal castles, which Albert had pledged as security for a loan to Frederick's predecessor. Thus Bremen gained a powerful position in the Prince-Archbishopric (ecclesiastical principality), pushing its actual ruler aside.

In 1380 knights of the ''von Mandelsloh'' family and others Verdian and Bremian robber barons plundered the burghers of Bremen and the people of the entire Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. In 1381 the city's troops successfully ended this brigandage and captured the castle of Bederkesa and the bailiwick belonging to it, which it was able to hold until November 1654, when after the Second Bremian War Bremen had to cede Bederkesa and Lehe (a part of present-day Bremerhaven) to Bremen-Verden. In 1386 the city of Bremen made vassals of the noble families, which held the estates of Altluneburg (a part of present-day Schiffdorf) and Elmlohe.

Bremen and the Reformation

When the Protestant Reformation swept through Northern Germany, St Peter's cathedral belonged to the ''cathedral immunity district'' (), an extraterritorial enclave of the neighbouring Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. The cathedral chapter which was still Catholic at that time closed St Peter's in 1532 after a mob consisting of Bremen's burghers had forcefully interrupted a Catholic mass and prompted a pastor to hold a Lutheran service.

Roman Catholic Church was condemned by most local burghers as a symbol of the abuses of a long Catholic past. In 1547 the chapter, which had in the mean time become predominantly Lutheran, appointed the Dutch Albert Rizaeus, called Hardenberg, as the first Cathedral pastor of Protestant affiliation. Rizaeus turned out to be a partisan of the Zwinglian understanding of the Lord's Supper, which was rejected by the then Lutheran majority of burghers, the city council, and chapter. So in 1561 — after heated disputes — Rizaeus was dismissed and banned from the city and the cathedral again closed its doors.

However, as a consequence of that controversy the majority of Bremen's burghers and city council adopted Calvinism by the 1590s, while the chapter, which was at the same time the body of secular government in the neighbouring Prince-Archbishopric, clung to Lutheranism. This antagonism between a Calvinistic majority and a Lutheran minority, though it had a powerful position in its immunity district (mediatised as part of the city in 1803), remained dominant until in 1873 the Calvinist and Lutheran congregations of Bremen were reconciled and founded a united administrative umbrella Bremian Protestant Church, which still exists today, comprising the bulk of Bremen's burghers.

At the beginning of the 17th century, Bremen continued to play its double role, wielding fiscal and political power within the Prince-Archbishopric, but not allowing the Prince-Archbishopric to rule in the city without its consent.

Thirty Years War

Soon after the beginning of the Thirty Years' War Bremen declared its neutrality, as did most of the territories in the Lower Saxon Circle (the imperial district of Lower Saxony). John Frederick, Lutheran Administrator of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, desperately tried to keep his Prince-Archbishopric out of the war, with the complete agreement of the Estates and the city of Bremen. When in 1623 the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, (the Republic of the United Netherlands) which was fighting in the Eighty Years' War for its independence against Habsburg's Spanish and imperial forces, requested its Calvinist co-religionist Bremen to join them, the city refused, but started to reinforce its fortifications.

In 1623 the territories comprising the Lower Saxon Circle decided to recruit an army in order to maintain an armed neutrality, since troops of the Catholic League were already operating in the neighbouring Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle and dangerously close to their region. The concomitant effects of the war, debasement of the currency and rising prices, had already caused inflation which was also felt in Bremen.

In 1623 the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, diplomatically supported by King James I of England, the brother-in-law of Christian IV of Denmark, started a new anti-Habsburg campaign. Thus the troops of the Catholic League were otherwise occupied and Bremen seemed relieved. But soon after this the imperial troops under Albrecht von Wallenstein headed north in an attempt to destroy the fading Hanseatic League, in order to reduce the Hanseatic cities of Bremen, Hamburg and the Lübeck and to establish a Baltic trade monopoly, to be run by some imperial favourites including Spaniards and Poles. The idea was to win Sweden's and Denmark's support, both of which had for a long time sought the destruction of the ''Hanseatic League''.

In May 1625 Christian IV of Denmark, Duke of Holstein was elected — in the latter of his functions — by the Lower Saxon Circle's member territories commander-in-chief of the Lower Saxon troops. In the same year Christian IV joined the Anglo-Dutch military coalition. Christian IV ordered his troops to capture all the important traffic hubs in the Prince-Archbishopric and commenced the Battle of Lutter am Barenberge, on 27 August 1626, where he was defeated by the Leaguist troops under Johan 't Serclaes, Count of Tilly. Christian IV and his surviving troops fled to the Prince-Archbishopric and established their headquarters in Stade.

In 1627 Christian IV withdrew from the Prince-Archbishopric, in order to oppose Wallenstein's invasion of his Duchy of Holstein. Tilly then invaded the Prince-Archbishopric and captured its southern part. Bremen shut its city gates and entrenched itself behind its improved fortifications. In 1628, Tilly turned on the city, and Bremen paid him a ransom of 10,000 rixdollars in order to spare it a siege. The city remained was spared an unoccupation.

The takeover by the Catholic League enabled Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, to implement the Edict of Restitution, decreed March 6, 1629, within the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen including the city of Bremen. In September 1629 Francis William, Count of Wartenberg, appointed by Ferdinand II as chairman of the imperial restitution commission for the Lower Saxon Circle, in carrying out the provisions of the Edict of Restitution, ordered the Bremian Chapter, seated in Bremen, to render an account of all the capitular and prince-archiepiscopal estates (not to be confused with the Estates). The Chapter refused, arguing first that the order had not been authorised and later that due to disputes with Bremen's city council, they could not freely travel to render an account, let alone do the necessary research on the estates. The anti-Catholic attitudes of Bremen's burghers and council was to make it completely impossible to prepare the restitution of estates from the Lutheran Chapter to the Roman Catholic Church. Even Lutheran capitulars were uneasy in Calvinistic Bremen.

Bremen's city council ordered that the capitular and prince-archiepiscopal estates within the boundaries of the unoccupied city were not to be restituted to the Roman Catholic Church. The council argued that the city had long been Protestant, but the restitution commission replied that the city was de jure a part of the Prince-Archbishopric, so Protestantism had illegitimately taken over Catholic-owned estates. The city council replied that under these circumstances it would rather separate from the Holy Roman Empire and join the quasi-independent Republic of the Seven Netherlands. The city was neither to be conquered nor to be successfully besieged due to its new fortifications and its access to the North Sea.

In October 1631 an army, newly recruited by John Frederick, started to reconquer the Prince-Archbishopric — helped by forces from Sweden and the city of Bremen. John Frederick returned to office, only to implement the supremacy of Sweden, insisting that it retain supreme command until the end of the war. With the impending enforcement of the military Major Power of Sweden over the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, which was under negotiation at the Treaty of Westphalia, the city of Bremen feared it would fall under Swedish rule. Therefore the city appealed for an imperial confirmation of its status of imperial immediacy from 1186 (Gelnhausen Privilege). In 1646 Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, granted the requested confirmation (Diploma of Linz) to the Free Imperial City.

Swedish reaction

Nevertheless, Sweden, represented by its imperial fief Bremen-Verden, which comprised the secularised prince-bishoprics of Bremen and Verden, did not accept the imperial immediacy of the city of Bremen. Swedish Bremen-Verden and tried to remediatise the Free Imperial City of Bremen (i.e. to make it switch its allegiance to Sweden). With this in view, Swedish Bremen-Verden twice waged war on Bremen. In 1381 the city of Bremen had imposed de facto rule in an area around Bederkesa and west of it as far as the lower branch of the Weser near Bremerlehe (a part of present-day Bremerhaven). Early in 1653, Bremen-Verden's Swedish troops captured Bremerlehe by force. In February 1654 the city of Bremen managed to get Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, to grant it a seat and the vote in the Holy Roman Empire's Diet, thus accepting the city's status as Free Imperial City of Bremen.

Ferdinand III demanded that Christina of Sweden, Duchess regnant of Bremen-Verden, compensate the city of Bremen for the damages caused and restitute Bremerlehe. When in March 1654 the city of Bremen started to recruit soldiers in the area of Bederkesa, in order to prepare for further arbitrary acts, Swedish Bremen-Verden enacted the First Bremian War (March to July 1654), arguing that it was acting in self-defence. The Free Imperial City of Bremen had meanwhile urged Ferdinand III to support it, who in July 1654 asked Charles X Gustav of Sweden, Christina's successor as Duke of Bremen-Verden, to cease the conflict, which resulted in the Recess of Stade (November 1654). This treaty left the main issue, the acceptance of the city of Bremen's imperial immediacy, unresolved. But the city agreed to pay tribute and levy taxes in favour of Swedish Bremen-Verden and to cede its possessions around Bederkesa and Bremerlehe, which was why it was later called Lehe.

In December 1660 the city council of Bremen rendered homage as Free Imperial City of Bremen to Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1663 the city gained a seat and a vote in the Imperial Diet, despite sharp protest from Swedish Bremen-Verden. In March 1664 the Swedish Diet came out in favour of waging war on the Free Imperial City of Bremen. Right after Leopold I, who was busy with wars against the Ottoman Empire, had offered to the minor King Charles XI of Sweden Bremen-Verden, and the neighbouring Brunswick and Lunenburg-Celle as he was otherwise occupied by succession quarrels and as France was not opposed, Sweden started the Second Bremian War (1665–66) from its Bremen-Verden enclave.

The Swedes under Carl Gustaf Wrangel laid siege to the city of Bremen. The siege brought Brandenburg-Prussia, Brunswick and Lunenburg-Celle, Denmark, Leopold I and the Netherlands onto the scene, who were all in favour of the city, with Brandenburgian, Cellean, Danish, and Dutch troops at Bremen-Verden's borders ready to invade. So on 15 November 1666 Sweden had to sign the Treaty of Habenhausen, obliging it to destroy the fortresses built close to Bremen and banning Bremen from sending its representative to the ''Diet'' of the Lower Saxon District. From then on no further Swedish attempts were made to capture the city.

In 1700 Bremen introduced — like all Protestant territories of imperial immediacy — the Improved Calendar, as it was called by Protestants, in order not to mention the name of Pope Gregory XIII. So Sunday, 18 February of Old Style was followed by Monday, 1 March New Style.

19th century

In 1811, Napoleon invaded Bremen and integrated it as the capital of the (Department of the Mouths of the Weser) into the French State. In 1813, the French — as they retreated — withdrew from Bremen. Johann Smidt, Bremen's representative at the Congress of Vienna, was successful in achieving the non-mediatisation of Bremen, Hamburg and the Lübeck by which they were not incorporated into neighbouring monarchies, but became sovereign republics.

The first German steamship was manufactured in 1817 in the shipyard of Johann Lange.

In 1827, Bremen, under Johann Smidt, its mayor at that time, purchased land from the Kingdom of Hanover, to establish the city of Bremerhaven (Port of Bremen) as an outpost of Bremen because of the increased silting up of the river Weser.

Brauerei Beck & Co KG, a brewery, was founded in 1837 and remains in operation today. The shipping company The North German Lloyd (NDL) was founded in 1857. Lloyd was a byword for commercial shipping and is now a part of Hapag-Lloyd. In 1872, the Bremer Cotton Exchange was created.

20th century

A Soviet (Council) Republic of Bremen existed from November 1918 to February 1919 in the aftermath of World War I before it was overthrown by Gerstenberg Freikorps.

Henrich Focke, Georg Wulf and Werner Naumann founded Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG in Bremen in 1923; the aircraft construction company forms part of Airbus, a manufacturer of civil and military aircraft. Borgward, an automobile manufacturer, was founded in 1929, and is today part of Daimler AG.

The town of Vegesack became part of the city of Bremen in 1939: the Bremen-Vegesack concentration camp operated during World War II.

Following the bombing of Bremen in World War II, the British 3rd Infantry Division under General Whistler captured Bremen in late April 1945.

After World War II, the city became an enclave, part of the American occupation zone surrounded by the British zone. Bremen's mayor Wilhelm Kaisen (SPD) travelled 1946 to the U.S. to seek Bremen's independence from Lower Saxony, as Bremen had traditionally been a city-state.

In 1947, Martin Mende founded Nordmende, a manufacturer of entertainment electronics. In 1958, OHB-System, a manufacturer of medium-sized spaceflight satellites, was founded.

Politics

The ''Stadtbürgerschaft'' (municipal assembly) is made up of 68 of the 83 legislators of the state legislature, the ''Bremische Bürgerschaft'', who reside in the city of Bremen. The legislature is elected by the citizens of Bremen every four years.

One of the two mayors (''Bürgermeister'') is elected President of the Senate (''Präsident des Senats'') and serves as head of the city and the state. The current President is Jens Böhrnsen.

Main sights

Many of the sights in Bremen are found in the ''Altstadt'' (Old Town), an oval area surrounded by the Weser River, on the southwest, and the ''Wallgraben'', the former moats of the medieval city walls, on the northeast. The oldest part of the Altstadt is the southeast half, starting with the ''Marktplatz'' and ending at the ''Schnoor quarter''.

The ''Marktplatz'' (Market square) is dominated by the opulent façade of the Town Hall of Bremen. The building was erected between 1405 and 1410 in Gothic style, but the façade was built two centuries later (1609–12) in Renaissance style. The Town Hall is the seat of the President of the Senate. Today, it hosts a restaurant in original decor with gigantic wine barrels, the Ratskeller in Bremen, and the wine lists boasts more than 600 — exclusively German — wines. It is also home of the twelve oldest wines in the world, stored in their original barrels in the Apostel chamber. In July 2004, along with the Bremen Roland, the building was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Two statues stand to the west side of the Town Hall: one is the statue Bremen Roland (1404) of the city's protector, Roland, with his view against the ''Cathedral'' and bearing Durendart, the "sword of justice" and a shield decorated with an imperial eagle. The other near the entrance to the ''Ratskeller'' is Gerhard Marcks' bronze sculpture (1953) ''Die Stadtmusikanten'' (Town Musicians) which portrays the donkey, dog, cat and rooster of the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale.

Other interesting buildings in the vicinity of the Marktplatz are the ''Schütting'', a 16th-century Flemish-inspired guild hall, and the ''Stadtwaage'', the former weigh house (built in 1588), with an ornate Renaissance façade. The façades and houses surrounding the market square were the first buildings in Bremen to be restored after World War II, by the citizens of Bremen themselves.

The impressive Cathedral St. Petri (13th century), to the east of the Marktplatz, with sculptures of Moses and David, Peter and Paul and Charlemagne.

The ''Liebfrauenkirche'' (Our Lady's Church) is the oldest church of the town (11th century). Its crypt features several impressive murals from the 14th century .

Off the south side of the Markplatz, the ''Böttcherstraße'' was transformed in 1923–1931 by the coffee magnate Ludwig Roselius, who commissioned local artists to convert the narrow street (in medieval time, the street of the barrel makers) into an inspired mixture of Gothic and Art Nouveau. It was considered "''entartete Kunst''" (degenerate art) by the Nazis. Today, the street is one of Bremen's most popular attractions. At the end of Böttcherstraße, by the Weser bank, stands the ''Martinikirche'' (St Martin's Church), a Gothic brick church built in 1229, and rebuilt in 1960 after its destruction in World War II.

Tucked away between the Cathedral and the river is the ''Schnoor'', a small, well-preserved area of crooked lanes, fishermen's and shipper's houses from the 17th and 18th centuries, now occupied by cafés, artisan shops and art galleries.

''Schlachte'', the medieval harbour of Bremen (the modern port is some kilometres downstream) and today a riverside boulevard with pubs and bars aligned on one side and the banks of Weser on the other.

More contemporary tourist attractions include:

Universum Science Center, a modern science museum

The Rhododendron-Park Bremen, a major collection of rhododendrons and azaleas, which also includes a botanical garden

''Botanika'', a nature museum within the Rhododendron-Park Bremen that attempts be to the same as the ''Universum'', but for biology

''Beck's Brewery'', tours are available to the public which include beer tasting

The Kunsthalle Bremen, an art museum with paintings from the 19th and 20th century, maintained by the citizens of Bremen

Focke Museum, People of Bremen's Museum for Art and Cultural History

The Übersee Museum Bremen (''Overseas (World) Museum'') is a Natural History and Ethnographic museum near by the Central Station Bremen

The ''Kunstsammlungen Böttcherstraße'', an art museum in expressionist architecture from Bernhard Hoetger with paintings from the 20th century from Paula Modersohn-Becker.

The Weserburg Museum für moderne Kunst ("Weserburg Modern Art Museum"), a modern art museum located in the middle of the Weser River.

Structures

Mediumwave transmitter Bremen

Fallturm Bremen

Bremen-Walle Telecommunication Tower

The ''Freie Waldorfschule'' in Bremen-Sebaldsbrück was Germany's first school built to the ''Passivhaus'' low-energy building standard.

Economy

The Bremen site is the second development centre after Hamburg. It forms part of the production network of Airbus Deutschland GmbH and this is where equipping of the wing units for all widebody Airbus aircraft and the manufacture of small sheet metal parts takes place. Structural assembly, including that of metal landing flaps, is another focal point. Within the framework of Airbus A380 production, assembly of the landing flaps (high lift systems) is carried out here. The pre-final assembly of the fuselage section (excluding the cockpit) of the A400M military transport aircraft takes place before delivery on to Spain.

More than 3,100 persons are employed at Bremen, the second largest Airbus site in Germany. As part of the Centre of Excellence - Wing/Pylon, Bremen is responsible for the design and manufacture of high-lift systems for the wings of Airbus aircraft. The entire process chain for the high-lift elements is established here, including the project office, technology engineering, flight physics, system engineering, structure development, verification tests, structural assembly, wing equipping and ultimate delivery to the final assembly line. In addition, Bremen manufactures sheet metal parts like clips and thrust crests for all Airbus aircraft as part of the Centre of Excellence — Fuselage and Cabin.

In Bremen there is a plant of EADS Astrium and the headquarter of OHB-System, respectively the first and the third space companies of European Union.

There is also a Mercedes-Benz factory in Bremen, building the C, CLK, SL, SLK, and GLK series of cars.

Beck & Co's headlining brew Beck's and St Pauli Girl beers are brewed in Bremen. In past centuries when Bremen's port was the "key to Europe", the city also had a large number of wine importers, but the number is down to a precious few. Apart from that there is another link between Bremen and wine: about 800 years ago, quality wines were produced here. The largest wine cellar in the world is located in Bremen (below the city's main square), which was once said to hold over 1 million bottles, but during WWII was raided by occupying forces.

A large number of food producing or trading companies are located in Bremen with their German or European headquarters: Anheuser–Busch InBev (Beck's Brewery), Kellogg's, Kraft Foods (Kraft, Jacobs Coffee, Milka Chocolate, Milram, Miràcoli), Frosta (frosted food), Nordsee (chain of sea fast food), Melitta Kaffee, Eduscho Kaffee, Azul Kaffee, Vitakraft (pet food for birds), Atlanta AG (Chiquita banana), chocolatier Hachez (fine chocolate and confiserie), feodora chocolatier.

Transport

Bremen has an international airport situated in the south of the city.

Bremer Straßenbahn AG (translates from German as ''Bremen Tramways Corporation''), often abbreviated BSAG, is the public transport provider for Bremen, offering tramway and bus services.

The Bremen S-Bahn covers the Bremen/Oldenburg Metropolitan Region, from Bremerhaven in the north to Twistringen in the south and from Oldenburg in the west. It has been in operation since 2010. This network unified existing regional transport in Bremen as well as surrounding cities, including Bremerhaven, Delmenhorst, Twistringen, Nordenham, Oldenburg, and Verden an der Aller. The network lies completely within the area of the Bremen-Lower Saxony Transport Association, whose tariff structure applies.

Events

Every year since 1036, in the last two weeks of October, Bremen has hosted Freimarkt ("Free market"), one of the world's oldest and in Germany one of today's biggest continuously celebrated fairground festivals.

Bremen is host to one of the four big annual Techno parades, the Vision Parade.

Bremen is also host for the "Bremer 6 Tage Rennen" a bicycle race at the Bremen Arena.

Every year the city plays host to young musicians from across the world, playing in the International Youth Symphony Orchestra of Bremen (IYSOB).

On March 12, 1999, the rock band Kiss played a live show here. Before the show they were told by the fire marshall not to use any fireworks. During the show they used no fireworks, but at the end, they set off all of the fireworks at once. Because of this, they are now banned from playing in Bremen.

Bremen was host to the 2006 RoboCup competition.

Bremen was host to the 32nd Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag from 20 to 24 May 2009.

Bremen hosted the 50th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) from 10 to 22 July 2009.

Sports

Bremen is home to the football team SV Werder Bremen which won the German Football Championship for the fourth time and the German Football Cup for the fifth time in 2004, making SV Werder Bremen just the fourth team in German football history to win the double; the club won the German Football Cup for the sixth time in 2009. Only Bayern Munich has won more titles. In the final match of the 2009–10 season, Werder Bremen competed with Bayern Munich but lost. The Weserstadion, the home stadium of the SV Werder Bremen, is currently under construction. After being finished, the stadium will be a pure football stadium, almost completely surrounded by solar cells. It will be one of the biggest buildings in Europe delivering alternative energies.

Education

The University of Bremen is the largest university in Bremen, and is also home to the international Goethe-Institut. Furthermore Bremen has a University of the Arts and the Bremen University of Applied Sciences, more recently the Jacobs University Bremen.

Miscellanea

In December 1949, Bremen hosted the lecture cycle ''Einblick in das, was ist'' by the philosopher Martin Heidegger, in which Heidegger introduced his concept of a "fourfold" of earth and sky, gods and mortals. This was also Heidegger's first public-speaking engagement following his removal from his Freiburg professorship by the Denazification authorities.

Bremen is connected with a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, the ''Town Musicians of Bremen'', although they never actually reach Bremen in the tale.

The 1922 film ''Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens'' was set mostly in Bremen.

Notable people

Kersten Artus — journalist and politician

Heinrich Averbeck — physiotherapist

Adolf Bastian — polymath

Ben Becker and Meret Becker — actors

Henry Bohlen — American Civil War Union Brigadier General

Karl Carstens — politician

André Erkau — Film director and screenplay writer

Henrich Focke — aviation pioneer and co-founder of Focke-Wulf

Friedemann Friese — Designer of Power Grid and other board games.

Harald Genzmer — composer of contemporary classical music

Reinhard Hardegen — Member of Bremen Parliament and former U-boat commander of submarine ''U-123''.

Klaus Kleinfeld — former chief executive officer (CEO) of Siemens AG

Johann Georg Kohl — travel writer, historian and geographer

Louis Krages — racing driver and businessman

Georg Kulenkampff — violinist

Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff — actor and TV host

Murat Kurnaz — Guantanamo Bay prisoner for four years

James Last — composer and big band leader

Franz Adolf Eduard Lüderitz — merchant and colonist

Joachim Neander — hymn song writer

Charles Henry Nimitz (1826–1911) Born in Bremen. In 1852, built the Nimitz Hotel in Fredericksburg, Texas, which now houses the National Museum of the Pacific War. Grandfather of United States Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. Elected to the Texas Legislature 1890.

Juergen Nogai — Architectural Photographer & Filmmaker

Wilhelm Olbers — physician and astronomer

Henry Oldenburg - Secretary of the Royal Society

Hans Otte — composer

Ludwig Quidde — pacifist politician and Nobel Peace Prize laureate

Sven Regener — musician and writer

Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus — naturalist

Friedrich Gerhard Rohlfs — geographer, explorer, author and adventurer

Bert Trautmann — football goalkeeper

Jürgen Trittin — Green politician

Edward Voigt — U.S. Representative from Wisconsin

Wilhelm Wagenfeld — industrial designer of the 20th century

Kai Warner — pop musician

Hermann Uhde — Wagnerian baritone

Revolverheld — Rock Band

Ludwig Roselius — Businessman and patron of the arts

International relations

Twin towns / Sister cities

Bremen is twinned with:

style="background:#811541"	City	Since	Country
Gdańsk	1976
Riga	1985
Dalian	1985
Rostock
Haifa	1988
Bratislava	1989
Corinto, Nicaragua	Corinto	1989
Lukavac	1994
İzmir	1995
Durban
Pune
Maracaibo

See also

List of mayors of Bremen

SV Werder Bremen

Hanseatic League

References

Bibliography

Notes

External links

Official city website

Official visitors information (various languages)

Skulptures of the Musicians of Bremen, limited edition 2008 (German)

360 degrees Virtual Reality visit of Bremen

Official site of Das Viertel

Category:German state capitals Category:Imperial free cities Category:Landmarks in Germany Category:Members of the Hanseatic League Category:Port cities and towns in Germany Category:Port cities and towns of the North Sea

af:Bremen als:Bremen ar:بريمن (مدينة) zh-min-nan:Bremen be:Горад Брэмен be-x-old:Брэмэн bg:Бремен ca:Bremen cs:Brémy tum:Bremen cy:Bremen da:Bremen (by) de:Bremen dsb:Brema et:Bremen el:Βρέμη es:Bremen eo:Bremeno ext:Bremen eu:Bremen (hiria) fa:برمن fr:Brême gd:Bremen ko:브레멘 hsb:Bremen hr:Bremen io:Bremen (urbo) ilo:Bremen ie:Bremen os:Бремен is:Bremen it:Brema (città) he:ברמן pam:Bremen ka:ბრემენი kk:Бремен kw:Bremen sw:Bremen la:Brema lv:Brēmene lb:Bremen lt:Brėmenas hu:Bréma (település) mk:Бремен mr:ब्रेमेन nah:Bremen (āltepētl) nl:Bremen (stad) ja:ブレーメン frr:Bremen (stää) no:Bremen (by) nn:Byen Bremen nov:Bremen (state) oc:Brèma (vila) uz:Bremen nds:Bremen pl:Brema pt:Bremen ru:Бремен sah:Брэмэн sco:Bremen sq:Bremeni simple:Bremen sk:Brémy sr:Бремен sh:Bremen (grad) fi:Bremen sv:Bremen th:เบรเมิน tr:Bremen uk:Бремен ug:Brémén vi:Bremen vo:Bremen war:Bremen yo:Bremen zh:不来梅

Coordinates	29°57′53″N90°4′14″N
Name	Baba Saad
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Saad El-Haddad
Origin	Beirut, Lebanon
Birth date	November 26, 1985
Genre	German hip hop
Occupation	Rapper
Years active	2004 to present
Label	ersguterjunge
Associated acts	Bushido, Chakuza, Kay One

Saad El-Haddad () (November 26, 1985), better known by his stage names Baba Saad or just Saad, is a German rapper of Lebanese heritage.

Biography

Early life

Baba Saad was born in Lebanon, but came to Germany in 1994. He first lived with his family in Syke, but later moved to Bremen. After his graduation from school, the German rapper Bushido, also known as Sonny Black, took him under his wing.

Career

When Bushido heard Saad rap for the first time, he immediately asked him to participate in the making of ''Electro Ghetto''. In early 2005, Saad was featured alongside Bushido in the joint album ''Carlo, Cokxxx, Nutten 2'', which reached #3 in the German charts. The best-known single was "Nie ein Rapper". Since the summer of 2005, he has been signed to ersguterjunge. At the end of 2005, Saad was featured on Bushido's album ''Staatsfeind Nr. 1'', and continued playing on the tour that followed.

In the spring of 2006, Saad released his own album, called ''Das Leben ist Saad''. He has also appeared on compilations for his label, in which he has both appeared solo and with other members of the label. Saad also has recently been featured on the track "Auge des Sturms" with Azad.

Discography

Solo albums

2005: Carlo Cokxxx Nutten II (with Sonny Black)

2006: Das Leben ist Saad

2008: Saadcore

Singles

2005: Nie ein Rapper feat.Sonny Black: (Carlo Cokxxx Nutten II)

2006: Womit hab ich das verdient: (Das Leben ist Saad)

2008: Hier geht es nicht um dich: (Saadcore)

2008: Regen feat.Bushido: (Saadcore)

Other Release

2004: Mein Cock feat.Bushido: (Nie Wieder Maxi Single)

2005: Ich halt' die Stellung: (Augenblick Maxi Single)

2007: Ausnahmezustand: (Internet-Exclusive)

2007: Asphalt Massaker: (Alles Gute kommt von unten Maxi Single)

2008: Deutschlands Most Wanted: (Juice Exclusive #83)

2009: Mein Job: (Free Track)

External links

Official Site

Official FanSite

Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:German rappers Category:People from Beirut Category:German people of Lebanese descent Category:German people of Arab descent

de:Baba Saad fr:Baba Saad it:Baba Saad hu:Baba Saad pl:Baba Saad

Coordinates	29°57′53″N90°4′14″N
name	Sokratis Papastathopoulos
fullname	Sokratis Papastathopoulos
birth date	June 09, 1988
birth place	Kalamata, Greece
height
position	Centre back/Right back
currentclub	Werder Bremen (on loan from Genoa)
clubnumber	22
youthyears1	| youthclubs1 Apollon Petalidiou
youthyears2	| youthclubs2 AEK Athens
years1	2005–2008 | clubs1 AEK Athens | caps1 38 | goals1 1
years2	2006 | clubs2 → Niki Volou (loan) | caps2 11 | goals2 0
years3	2008–2010 | clubs3 Genoa | caps3 51 | goals3 2
years4	2010–2011 | clubs4 Milan | caps4 5 | goals4 0
years5	2011– | clubs5 Genoa | caps5 0 | goals5 0
years6	2011– | clubs6 → Werder Bremen (loan) | caps6 4 | goals6 0
nationalyears1	2003–2005 | nationalteam1 Greece U-17
nationalcaps1	11 | nationalgoals1 2
nationalyears2	2005–2007 | nationalteam2 Greece U-19
nationalcaps2	13 | nationalgoals2 2
nationalyears3	2007–2010 | nationalteam3 Greece U-21
nationalcaps3	7 | nationalgoals3 2
nationalyears4	2008– | nationalteam4 Greece
nationalcaps4	20 | nationalgoals4 0
pcupdate	1 June 2011
ntupdate	1 June 2011 }}

Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Greek: Σωκράτης Παπασταθόπουλος) (born 9 June 1988) is a Greek professional footballer who plays for Werder Bremen on loan from Genoa and the Greek national team, as a defender. Since the surname Papastathopoulos cannot fit on his club shirt, his first name Sokratis is usually displayed instead; however, a common nickname for him is ''Papa''. He is often compared to the likes of Stelios Manolas and Tony Adams by fans and is the youngest player ever to captain AEK Athens.

Club career

AEK Athens

Papastathopoulos joined AEK Athens from Apollon Petalidiou. On 26 October 2005 he made his debut for AEK Athens in a Greek Cup match against PAS Giannina scoring in the 7th minute of the game leading AEK Athens to a 3–0 win.

Loan to Niki Volou

In January 2006 he was loaned to Greek Second Division club Niki Volou for six months in order to gain first team football and gather valuable experience. He made a total of 15 appearances for Niki Volou.

Return to AEK Athens

During the 2006–07 Greek Super League, Papastathopoulos managed to make 14 appearances whilst competing against the likes of Bruno Cirillo, Traianos Dellas and Vangelis Moras. In AEK Athens' 2006–07 UEFA Champions League campaign, Papastathopoulos managed to play in 3 out of the 6 group games. In these 3 games AEK Athens managed 1 win (the famous 1–0 victory over Milan), 1 draw (the 2–2 away draw with Anderlecht) and one loss (the 3–1 away defeat to Lille). During the 2007–08 Greek Super League, he has been a mainstay in AEK's defence, keeping out competition from Geraldo Alves.

Genoa

On 1 August 2008, Papastathopoulos agreed to transfer to Genoa, a Serie A team, for undisclosed fee. He also played a club friendly against Genoa on the same day.

He made his debut for Genoa on 27 September 2008 against Fiorentina, followed by a start against Ravenna Calcio in the Coppa Italia a few days later. His first goal for Genoa came on the 5 October 2008 at home against Napoli. Genoa won the game 3–2, but Papastathopoulos was sent off in the 89th minute During the 2009–10 season he has managed to play in most games and has become somewhat of a fan favorite.

Milan

On 20 July 2010, it was confirmed in Milan's website that Papastathopoulos has joined the team, after Genoa and Milan had reached an agreement to transfer Papastathopoulos to the club for €14 million, with the following payment schedule: Gianmarco Zigoni (half of registration rights valued €3.75M), Nnamdi Oduamadi (half rights valued €3.5M) and Rodney Strasser (half rights €2.25M) in co-ownership deal, plus €4.5 million cash.

Return to Genoa

On 24 May 2011, Adriano Galliani and Enrico Preziosi formed a verbal agreement to solve the players ownership (subject to player agreements) including Kevin-Prince Boateng, Alberto Paloschi, Marco Amelia and Giacomo Beretta. The deal included Milan bought back Gianmarco Zigoni, Rodney Strasser and Nnamdi Oduamadi, while Genoa bought back Papastathopoulos.

International career

UEFA U-19 Championship 2007

At the 2007 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship in Austria, Papastathopoulos was captain of the Greece national team but controversially missed out on the final against Spain due to a suspension. Papastathopoulos picked up his second yellow card of the tournament against Germany in the semi-final, following up on his first yellow card against Austria in the group stage. The Hellenic Football Federation tried to appeal the yellow card to UEFA but were rejected. The match referee of the Germany game, Kevin Blom, apologized to Papastathopoulos for giving him the yellow, as it was later shown on video that it was not a booking. Papastathopoulos was a key figure of Greece's defensive line and was sorely missed the final.

Greece

He was called up on 1 February 2008 and made his debut on 5 February 2008 in the 1–0 friendly victory against Czech Republic. The Greece squad for Euro 2008 was announced by Otto Rehhagel on 27 May 2008, and Papastathopoulos was the unfortunate player to be cut from the provisional squad of 24 to the final 23-man selection.

He was recalled for a friendly against Slovakia on 10 August 2008, about a month after Euro 2008. From then, he has been a regular squad member for Greece. He featured in 4 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches and helped his country to qualify for the final tournament.

Statistics

Club

Team	Season	DomesticLeague	DomesticCup	ContinentalCompetition1	OtherTournaments2	Total
Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
align=center	align=center
align=center	align=center
rowspan="3" align=center	align=center
align=center
! Total !! 38 !! 1 !! 4 !! 1 !! 12 !! 0 !! 4 !! 0 !! 58 !! 2
rowspan="3" align=center	align=center
align=center
! Total !! 51 !! 2 !! 3 !! 0 !! 5 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 59 !! 2
align=center	align=center
Career Total		102	3	7	1	17	0	4	0	132	4

¹Continental competitions include the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup. ²Other tournaments include Greek Superleague playoffs.

International

! National team	! Season	! Apps	! Goals
	2008	6	0
2009	5	0
2010	8	0
2011	2	0
Total		! 20	! 0

Records

On 14 May 2008 during a derby match against Panathinaikos he became the youngest player to have ever captained AEK Athens at the age of 19.

Honours

Clubs ;Milan

Serie A: 1

:: 2010–11

Individual

UEFA European U-19 Championship: UEFA Team of the Tournament

Named in UEFA U-19 European Championships 2007 "Names to Note"; the best 11 players of the tournament.

Greek Young Footballer of the year: 2008

Team

UEFA U-19 European Championships Silver medal (Greece).

References

External links

Profile at official club website

Profile at UEFA.com

Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:Greek footballers Category:Greece international footballers Category:Association football defenders Category:Association football central defenders Category:AEK Athens F.C. players Category:Genoa C.F.C. players Category:A.C. Milan players Category:SV Werder Bremen players Category:Serie A footballers Category:Fußball-Bundesliga players Category:Expatriate footballers in Italy Category:Expatriate footballers in Germany Category:Greek expatriate footballers Category:Greek expatriates in Italy Category:Superleague Greece players Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players

ar:سقراط باباستاثوبولوس bg:Сократис Папастатопулос ca:Sokratis Papastathopoulos da:Sokratis Papastathopoulos de:Sokratis Papastathopoulos el:Σωκράτης Παπασταθόπουλος es:Sokratis Papastathopoulos fr:Sokrátis Papastathópoulos hr:Sokratis Papastathopoulos it:Sokratis Papastathopoulos he:סוקראטיס פאפאסטאטופולוס ka:სოკრატის პაპასტატოპულოსი mk:Сократис Папастатопулос mr:सोक्रेटिस पापास्तथोपोलोस nl:Sokratis Papastathopoulos ja:ソクラティス・パパスタソプーロス no:Sokratis Papastathopoulos nn:Sokrátis Papastathópoulos pl:Sokratis Papastathopulos pt:Sokratis Papastathopoulos ro:Sokratis Papastathopoulos ru:Папастатопулос, Сократис sq:Sokratis Papastathopoulos fi:Sokratis Papastathopoulos sv:Sokratis Papastathopoulos tr:Sokratis Papastathopoulos uk:Сократіс Папастатопулос zh:蘇卡迪斯·柏柏斯達夫普路斯

Coordinates	29°57′53″N90°4′14″N
Name	Stefan Edberg
Country	Sweden
Residence	Växjö, Sweden
Birth date	January 19, 1966
Birth place	Västervik, Sweden
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	1983
Retired	1996
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	$20,630,941 * 8th All-time leader in earnings
tennishofyear	2004
tennishofid	stefan-edberg
Singlesrecord	806–270 (74.9%)
Singlestitles	42
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (13 August 1990)
Australianopenresult	W (1985, 1987)
Frenchopenresult	F (1989)
Wimbledonresult	W (1988, 1990)
Usopenresult	W (1991, 1992)
Othertournaments	Yes
Masterscupresult	W (1989)
Olympicsresult	W (1984, demonstration event)Bronze medal (1988)
Doublesrecord	283–153
Doublestitles	18
Highestdoublesranking	No. 1 (9 June 1986)
Othertournamentsdoubles	Yes
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	W (1987, 1996)
Frenchopendoublesresult	F (1986)
Wimbledondoublesresult	SF (1987)
Usopendoublesresult	W (1987)
Olympicsdoublesresult	Bronze Medal (1988)
Updated	19 August 2006 }}

Stefan Bengt Edberg (born 19 January 1966 in Västervik, Sweden) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player (in both singles and doubles) from Sweden. A major proponent of the serve-and-volley style of tennis, he won six Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam men's doubles titles. He also won one season ending championship title the Masters Grand Prix. In addition he won four Masters Series titles and four Championship Series titles.

Career

Edberg first came to the tennis world's attention as a junior player. He won all four Grand Slam junior titles in 1983 to become the first-ever player to achieve the "Junior Grand Slam". Later that year as a professional, Edberg won his first career doubles title in Basel.

In 1984, Edberg won his first top-level singles title in Milan. Edberg also won the tennis tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics when the sport was an exhibition event and partnered with fellow Swede Anders Järryd to reach the final of the US Open. Edberg also reached the French Open doubles final with Järryd in 1986 and consequently was World No. 1 in doubles in that year.

U.S. fans first took notice of Edberg's professional career when he won the U.S. Indoor in Memphis in February 1985. Edberg's first two Grand Slam singles titles came at the Australian Open. In December 1985, he defeated Mats Wilander in straight sets to claim his first major title. In January 1987, he defended his title by defeating Pat Cash in five sets to win the last Australian Open held on grass courts. Edberg also won the Australian Open and US Open men's doubles titles in 1987 (partnering fellow Swede Anders Järryd).

In 1988, Edberg reached the first of three consecutive finals at Wimbledon. In all three finals, he played Boris Becker in what became one of Wimbledon's greatest rivalries. Edberg won their first encounter in a four-set match spread over two days because of rain delays. A year later, Becker won in straight sets. The closest of their matches came in the 1990 final, when Edberg won in five sets after being down a break in the fifth set.

In 1990, an abdominal muscle injury forced Edberg to retire from the Australian Open final while trailing Ivan Lendl 5–2 (including two breaks of serve) in the third set. Edberg nevertheless took the World No. 1 ranking from Lendl on 13 August 1990 by winning the Super 9 tournament in Cincinnati. He held it for the rest of that year and for much of 1991 and 1992. Edberg spent a total of 72 weeks as World No. 1.

Edberg's final two Grand Slam singles triumphs came at the US Open, with wins over Jim Courier in the 1991 final and Pete Sampras in the 1992 final, who was just months away from being ranked No. 1 in the world.

Edberg's last Grand Slam singles final appearances were at the Australian Open, where he lost in four sets to Jim Courier in both 1992 and 1993.

In 1996, Edberg won his third and final Grand Slam doubles title at Australian Open with Petr Korda.

The only Grand Slam singles title Edberg never won was the French Open. He reached the French Open final in 1989 but lost in five sets to 17-year old Michael Chang, who became the youngest ever male winner of a Grand Slam singles title.

Edberg was most comfortable playing tennis on fast-playing surfaces. Of his six Grand Slam singles titles, four were won on grass courts at the Australian Open (1985 and 1987) and Wimbledon (1988 and 1990) and two were won on hardcourts at the US Open (1991 and 1992).

Post-career competitive tennis

In September 2008, Stefan Edberg officially joined the Black Rock Tour of Champions, a tour for professional tennis players who have since retired from the ATP Tour. Edberg won his first tournament in Paris held on clay, winning matches against clay court specialists Thomas Muster in the opening round and Sergi Bruguera in the finals on Sunday, 21 September 2008.

Distinctions and honors

Edberg also played on four Swedish Davis Cup winning teams in 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1994. He appeared in seven Davis Cup finals—a record for a Swedish player.

Since the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) computer rankings began, Edberg and John McEnroe are the only men to be ranked World No. 1 in both singles and doubles.

Edberg is the only player ever to earn both Player of the Year and Doubles Team of the Year. Edberg won Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991 and Doubles Team of the Year (with fellow Swede Anders Järryd) in 1986.

Edberg and Boris Becker are the only male tennis players ever to receive the United Press International Athlete of the Year Award (with Edberg having received the award in 1990).

Edberg was also a member of the Swedish teams that won the World Team Cup in 1988, 1991, and 1995.

At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where tennis was a demonstration sport, Edberg won the men's singles gold medal. Four years later, at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, tennis became a full medal sport and Edberg won bronze medals in both the men's singles and the men's doubles.

During his career, Edberg won a total of 42 top-level singles titles and 18 doubles titles and appeared in a then record 54 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments (since then broken by Wayne Ferreira).

He was ranked the World No. 1 in singles for a total of 72 weeks.

Edberg was also a five-time recipient of the ATP Sportsmanship Award (1988–90, 1992, and 1995). In recognition of this achievement, the ATP renamed the award the "Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award" in 1996.

In 2004, Edberg was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, United States.

Edberg won singles titles in 12 different countries: Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Edberg is considered by Tennis Magazine as the 14th greatest player, counting both male and female tennis players, of the ''Tennis Era''. Counting men only, Edberg ranks 8th.

Edberg was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1990.

Edberg was a childhood hero of Roger Federer.

Edberg is one of the few players who reached the final of all four Grand Slam tournaments, winning three of them. In the 1989 French Open final, Edberg lead the match by two sets to one over Michael Chang and had numerous break points during the fourth and fifth sets. He eventually led the match by a break in the fifth set but could not win it.

Edberg won several Grand Slam matches after being down a break of service in the fifth and deciding set. Notable examples include the 1988 Wimbledon semifinal against Miloslav Mečíř, the 1989 French Open semifinal against Boris Becker, and the 1990 Wimbledon final against Becker. In the 1992 US Open, Edberg did it in three consecutive matches, against Richard Krajicek in the fourth round, Ivan Lendl in the quarterfinals, and Chang in the semifinals. In all these examples except the 1989 French Open final, Edberg went on to win the title.

Edberg's distinctive serve is used as the logo for the Australian Open.

Personal life

Edberg was born in Västervik, Sweden.

He is married to Annette Hjort Olsen. They have two children, Emilie and Christopher. (Olsen was before her marriage to Edberg at one time romantically connected to Edberg's tennis rival Mats Wilander.)

Edberg is a supporter of English football team Leeds United and the Swedish ice hockey team Växjö Lakers.

Records

These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.

width=120 1985–93 1985–87 1985-91

width=200	Grand Slam	Years ||	Record accomplished	Player tied
Australian Open	|	List_of_Australian_Open_Singles_Finals_appearances#Men>5 finals overall	Roger Federer
Australian Open	|	2 consecutive wins	Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi Roger Federer
Grand Slam Tournaments	|	Finalist in all four majors	Rod Laver Ken Rosewall Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi Roger Federer Rafael Nadal

Career statistics

Stefan Edberg career statistics

Quote

''"If he hadn't lived", Edberg later said of Van Alen, "Michael and I might still be out there playing!"''

* Background : James Henry Van Alen (famed for his invention of the tennis tiebreak) died on the same day in 1991 that Michael Stich narrowly defeated Edberg in a Wimbledon semifinal 4–6, 7–6(5), 7–6(5), 7–6(2) where Edberg did not lose his serve.

See also

Becker–Edberg rivalry

Tennis male players statistics

World number one male tennis player rankings

List of Swedes in sports

Dick Wertheim, a linesman who died in 1983 after being struck by one of Edberg's serves.

References

External links

Sunday Times article 29 November 2009

{{navboxes|title=Stefan Edberg in the Grand Slam Tournaments |list1= }} {{navboxes|title=Stefan Edberg Achievements |list1= }}

Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:Australian Open junior (tennis) champions Category:French Open junior champions Category:International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Sweden Category:Olympic medalists in tennis Category:Olympic tennis players of Sweden Category:People from Växjö Category:People from Västervik Municipality Category:Swedish tennis players Category:Swedish male tennis players Category:Tennis players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Category:United States Open champions (tennis) Category:United States Open junior tennis champions Category:Wimbledon champions Category:Wimbledon junior champions Category:World No. 1 tennis players

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Coordinates	29°57′53″N90°4′14″N
Name	Boris Becker
Nickname	''Boom Boom'' ''The Lion of Leimen''
Country	West Germany (1983–1990)Germany (from 1990)
Residence	Schwyz, Switzerland
Birth date	November 22, 1967
Birth place	Leimen, West Germany
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	1984
Retired	30 June 1999
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	US $25,080,956 6th All-time leader in earnings
tennishofyear	2003
tennishofid	boris-becker
Singlesrecord	713–214 (76.91%)
Singlestitles	49
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (28 January 1991)
Australianopenresult	W (1991, 1996)
Frenchopenresult	SF (1987, 1989, 1991)
Wimbledonresult	W (1985, 1986, 1989)
Usopenresult	W (1989)
Othertournaments	Yes
Masterscupresult	W (1992, 1995) WCT(1988)
Olympicsresult	3R (1992)
Doublesrecord	254–136
Doublestitles	15
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	QF (1985)
Othertournamentsdoubles	Yes
Olympicsdoublesresult	W (1992)
Highestdoublesranking	6 (22 September 1986)
Updated	N/A }}

Boris Franz Becker (born 22 November 1967) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17. Becker also won three year end championships titles including two ATP Masters World Tour Finals (played 8 finals, second all-time to Lendl 9) and one WCT Finals. He also won five Masters 1000 series titles and eight Championship Series titles. ''Tennis Magazine'' put Becker in 18th place on its list of the 40 greatest tennis players from 1965 to 2005.

Early life

Becker was born in Leimen, West Germany, the only son of Elvira (née Pisch), who was raised in Czechoslovakia. Becker was raised Catholic. His father, an architect, founded the tennis centre (Tennis-Club Blau-Weiß 1964 Leimen e. V.) in Leimen, where Becker learned the game.

Tennis career

Becker turned professional in 1984, under the guidance of Romanian-born coach, Günther Bosch, and with Ion Ţiriac as manager and won his first professional doubles title that year in Munich. As a West German teenager, Becker won his first top-level singles title in June 1985 at Queen's Club and two weeks later on 7 July, became the first unseeded player and the first German to win the Wimbledon singles title, defeating Kevin Curren in four sets. At the time, he was the youngest ever male Grand Slam singles champion at (a record later broken by Michael Chang in 1989, who won the French Open when he was ). Two months after his triumph, Becker became the youngest winner of the Cincinnati Open.

In 1986, Becker successfully defended his Wimbledon title, defeating World No. 1 Ivan Lendl in straight sets in the final. Becker, then ranked World No. 2, was upset in the second round of Wimbledon in 1987 by the World No. 70 player, Peter Doohan. In the Davis Cup that year, Becker and John McEnroe played one of the longest matches in tennis history. Becker won 4–6, 15–13, 8–10, 6–2, 6–2 (at that time, there were no tiebreaks in the Davis Cup). The match lasted 6 hours and 22 minutes.

Becker was back in the Wimbledon final in 1988, where he lost in four sets to Stefan Edberg in a match that marked the start of one of Wimbledon's great rivalries. Becker also helped West Germany win its first Davis Cup in 1988. He won the year-ending Masters title in New York City, defeating five-time champion Lendl in the final. The same year he also won season ending WCT Finals for the rival World Championship Tennis tour defeating Stefan Edberg in four sets.

In 1989, Becker won two Grand Slam singles titles, the only year he won more than one. After losing to Edberg in the French Open semifinals, he defeated Edberg in the Wimbledon final and then beat Lendl in the US Open final. He also helped West Germany retain the Davis Cup, defeating Andre Agassi in the semifinal round. As a result, Becker was named Player of The Year by the ATP Tour. The World No. 1 ranking, however, still eluded him.

In 1990, Becker met Edberg for the third consecutive year in the Wimbledon final, but this time was on the losing end of a long five-set match. He also failed to defend his US Open title, losing to Agassi in the semifinals. Becker reached the final of the Australian Open for the first time in his career in 1991, where he defeated Lendl to claim the World No. 1 ranking. Another loss to Agassi in the French Open semifinals kept him from winning the first two Grand Slam tournaments of the year. He was ranked World No. 1 for twelve weeks during 1991, though he never managed to finish a year with that ranking.

In 1992 Becker won seven tour titles including his second ATP Tour World Championships defeating Jim Courier in four sets.

By 1993, issues back home over his courtship of and marriage to Barbara Feltus, whose mother was German and father was African-American, and tax problems with the German Government, had caused Becker to slide into a severe mid-career decline. Becker was ranked World No. 2 during Wimbledon in 1991 and reached his fourth consecutive final there. However, he lost in straight sets to fellow German compatriot and World No. 7 Michael Stich. Becker and Stich developed a fierce rivalry, with the media often comparing a passionate Becker to a more stoic Stich. However, Becker and Stich teamed in 1992 to win the men's doubles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. Becker defeated Jim Courier in straight sets to win the 1992 year-end ATP Tour World Championships in Frankfurt.

In 1995, Becker reached the Wimbledon final for the seventh time, by defeating Agassi in the semifinals. In the final however, the years past-his-prime Becker, further fatigued after grueling baseline contests with Cédric Pioline and then with Agassi, ran out of gas after winning the first set in a tiebreak, and lost in four sets to Pete Sampras. He won the year-end ATP Tour World Championships for the third and last time in Frankfurt with a straight-set win over Chang in the final. Becker's sixth and final Grand Slam title came in 1996 when he defeated Chang in the final of the Australian Open. In that tournament, Becker delivered a humorous victory speech. When he mentioned his sponsors, he cut himself short, by saying that he did not have the whole day left. He then consoled Chang, by saying that his (Becker's) days were numbered, while Chang was still young. After winning the Queen's Club Championships for the fourth time, Becker was widely expected to mount a serious challenge for the Wimbledon title in 1996, but his bid ended abruptly when he damaged his right wrist during a third-round match against Neville Godwin and was forced to withdraw.

Becker defeated Sampras in October 1996 in a five-set final in Stuttgart. "Becker is the best indoor player I've ever played", said Sampras after the match. Becker lost to Sampras in the final of the 1996 ATP Tour World Championships in Hanover. Becker saved two match points in the fourth set and held serve 27 consecutive times until he was broken in the penultimate game. In 1997, Becker lost to Sampras in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. After that match, he vowed that he would never play at Wimbledon again. However, Becker played Wimbledon one more time in 1999, this time losing in the fourth round to Patrick Rafter.

Becker was most comfortable playing on fast-playing surfaces, particularly grass courts and indoor carpet (on which he won 26 titles). He reached a few finals playing on clay courts but never won a clay court tournament in his professional career. His best performances at the French Open were when he reached the semi-finals in 1987, 1989, and 1991.

Over the course of his career, Becker won 49 singles titles and 15 doubles titles. Besides his six Grand Slam titles, he was also a singles winner in the year-ending Masters / ATP Tour World Championships in 1988, 1992, and 1995, and at the Grand Slam Cup in 1996. He won a record-equalling four singles titles at London's Queen's Club. In Davis Cup, his career win-loss record was 54–12, including 38–3 in singles. He also won the other two major international team titles playing for Germany – the Hopman Cup (in 1995) and the World Team Cup (in 1989 and '98).

Becker won singles titles in 14 different countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Qatar, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States. In 2003, Becker was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He occasionally plays on the senior tour and in World Team Tennis. He is also sometimes a commentator at Wimbledon for the BBC.

Playing style

Becker's game was based on a fast and well-placed serve, that earned him the nicknames "Boom Boom", "Der Bomber" and "Baron von Slam", and great volleying skills at the net. He could supplement his pure serve-and-volley game with brilliant athleticism at the net, which included the diving volley that was considered a trademark of the young German, and which endeared him to his fans. His heavy forehand and return of serve were also very significant factors in his game.

Becker occasionally deviated from his serve-and-volley style to try to out-hit, from the baseline, opponents who normally were at their best while remaining near the baseline. Even though Becker possessed powerful shots from both wings, this strategy was often criticized by commentators.

Becker had frequent emotional outbursts on court. Whenever he considered himself to be playing badly, he often swore at himself and occasionally smashed his rackets. In contrast to John McEnroe, Becker rarely showed aggression toward his opponents or officials. Also in contrast to McEnroe, his level of play and focus tended to be diminished rather than enhanced following these outbursts. Becker's highly dramatic play spawned new expressions such as the ''Becker Blocker'' (his trademark early return shot), the ''Becker Hecht'' (a flying lunge), the ''Becker Faust'' ("Becker Fist"), the ''Becker Shuffle'' (the dance he sometimes performed after making important points), and ''Becker Säge'' ("Becker Saw" – referring to the way in which he pumped his fists in a sawing motion).

Becker, one of the most effective players in his era on grass courts and carpet courts, had less success on clay. He never won a top-level singles title on clay, coming closest when holding two match points against Thomas Muster in the final of the 1995 Monte Carlo Open. Becker did, however, team up with Michael Stich to win the 1992 men's doubles Olympic gold medal on clay.

Equipment

Becker played most of his career with racquets from the German company Puma. After production of this racquet was discontinued, he bought the moulds and had them produced by the American company Estusa. He now has his own personal line of racquets and apparel.

Records

These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.

^ Denotes consecutive streak.

Years 1985 1985–1995

width=200	Championship	|	Record accomplished	Player tied
The Championships, Wimbledon	Wimbledon	|	Youngest Wimbledon champion	''Stands alone''
Wimbledon	|	List_of_Wimbledon_Open_Era_Singles_Finals_appearances#Gentlemen>7 finals overall	Roger Federer^	Pete Sampras

Career statistics

In Grand Slam singles tournaments, Becker's match record is 163–40, an 80.3 winning percentage. The other male players in the open era with winning percentages over 80 are Björn Borg (89.8), Rafael Nadal (87.6), Roger Federer (87.4), Pete Sampras (84.2), Jimmy Connors (82.6), Ivan Lendl (81.9), John McEnroe (81.5), Novak Djokovic (81.1) and Andre Agassi (80.9).

Post-retirement career

Since 2000, Becker has been the principal owner of the tennis division of Völkl Inc., a tennis racquet and clothing manufacturer. He published a tell-all autobiography ''Augenblick, verweile doch...'' (English title: ''The Player'') in 2003. From October 2005 to June 2006, Becker was a team captain on the British TV sports quiz show ''They Think It's All Over.''

In October 2006, Becker signed a two-year deal with Vodafone to answer selected text messages from fans. The terms were his answering around 300 messages per year. These were predominantly questions about his career and trivia about the mens ATP tour. Becker has visited several places in Europe promoting the service, including Moscow and Airdrie.

In November 2007, Becker joined the ''Team PokerStars'' group of poker players sponsored by the PokerStars online poker cardroom. As part of the Team, Becker played in major poker tournaments like the European Poker Tour.

In May 2009, Becker announced the launch of online media platform ''Boris Becker TV''. The website, in English and German, features clips from his career and footage of his daily life.

Since 2009, Becker has been a commentator for the BBC at Wimbledon [and has continued to do so every year to date (2011)]. He was also the first former tennis player to appear on BBC's car show ''Top Gear'' as the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car". He posted a lap time of 1 minute 45.9 seconds, driving the Kia Cee'd.

Personal life

Becker lives in Schwyz, Switzerland. He is a fan of German football club Bayern Munich and serves on its advisory board alongside former Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber.

In addition to Munich, Monaco, and Schwyz, Becker has or has had apartments in London, in or near Wimbledon, and Miami, to be near his children.

Relationships

thumb|right|200px|Becker with [[Barbara Becker|Barbara Feltus in 1992]]On 17 December 1993, Becker married actress and designer Barbara Feltus. In January 1994, their son Noah Gabriel, named after Becker's friends Yannick Noah and Peter Gabriel, was born. Their second child, Elias, was born in September 1999. Before the marriage, they shocked some in Germany by posing nude for the cover of ''Stern'' in a picture taken by her father.

After Becker asked Barbara for a separation in December 2000, she flew to Miami, Florida with Noah and Elias, and filed a divorce petition in Miami-Dade County Court, sidestepping their prenuptial agreement, which had entitled her to a single $2.5 million payoff. The January 2001 pretrial hearing was broadcast live to Germany. Becker was granted a divorce on 15 January 2001. She got a $14.4 million settlement, their condo on the exclusive Fisher Island, and custody of Noah and Elias.

In February 2001, Becker acknowledged paternity of a daughter, Anna (born 22 March 2000), with model Angela Ermakova. In October 2009, he confirmed media reports that the child was the result of a brief sexual encounter in 1999 at a London restaurant. He had been out drinking following losing a main draw singles match at the Wimbledon Championships, in what had been a come-back to the venue of his greatest success. Becker initially denied paternity, but admitted he was the child's father after a DNA test. In November 2007, he obtained joint custody of Anna after expressing concerns over how her mother was raising her.

Becker was engaged to Alessandra Meyer-Wölden briefly in 2008. Her father, Axel Meyer-Wölden, was Becker's advisor and manager in the 1990s. The couple broke up in November 2008.

In February 2009 on the German ZDF TV show ''Wetten, dass..?'', Becker announced that he and Dutch model Sharlely "Lilly" Kerssenberg would be getting married on 12 June 2009 in St Moritz, Switzerland. In August 2009 they announced that they were expecting a child. In February 2010, Becker and wife welcomed a son, Amadeus Benedict Edley Luis Becker. The name Edley is for his wife's uncle Edley, and Luis is for his friend, Mexican-Cuban millionaire Luis Garcia Fanjul, who is also the child's godfather.

See also

Becker–Edberg rivalry

References

Further reading

Video

''Wimbledon Record Breakers (2005)'' Starring: Andre Agassi, Boris Becker; Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 16 August 2005, Run Time: 52 minutes, ASIN: B000A3XYYQ.

External links

Official Site of Boris Becker Sports & Boris Becker Tennis

Boris-Becker.TV

BBC Profile

Boris Becker's victories

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