October 9, 2017

3165 GERMANY (Bremen) - Schnoor quarter


Many of the sights in Bremen are found in the Altstadt (Old Town), an oval area surrounded by the River Weser, 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. Actually, Schnoor is the only part of the city that has preserved a medieval character. The neighbourhood owes its name to old handicrafts associated with shipping (schnoor means string in german).

In the Hanseatic city of Bremen, the Schnoor was one of the poorer corners. While the rich merchants settled in the Obernstrasse (Upper Street) or in the Langenstrasse (Long Street, along the Balge, Bremen's first harbour), the Schnoor developed in the 10th century as a district of fishermen. The inhabitants built thatched cottages on the little island between the rivers Weser and Balge. The first bridge crossing the Weser was built around the year 1240.

Today the oldest houses date back to the 15th century. Most of them are from the 17th and 18th centuries. While other parts of Bremen developed with plots of about one square kilometre and merchant's villas, the plots in the Schnoor have areas which are just enough for a single houses on 55 square metres. The narrow streets were not suitable for the increase in traffic from the 19th century. The quarter became one of the poorest parts of Bremen, a situation that meant renovations were unaffordable.

During the WWII the Schnoor suffered only slight damage, and since 1959 the house owners were invited to restore rundown buildings with financial support from the State of Bremen. In 1973 the Schnoor became a historic district under official heritage conservation through the State Monument Authority. Some of the most famous houses which has been preserved in its original state are the Schifferhaus (1630), Landherrnamt (1856), but also Old Tea House, or Schnoor 37 (1601). 

About the stamps
The stamp is part of the series Youth Philately - Augsburger Puppenkiste Marionette Theater, designed by Anna Berkenbusch and Christian Gralingen, and issued on August 10, 2017. The three stamps depict puppets from some old TV series, adaptation of successful children's books: Urmel aus dem Eis (Urmel from the Ice Age) by Max Kruse, Kleiner König Kalle Wirsch (Little King Kalle Wirsch) by Tilde Michels, and Kater Mikesch (Tomcat Mikesch) by Josef Lada. Walter Oehmichen and his ensemble (Augsburger Puppenkiste Marionette Theater, founded by him in 1948) performed the puppet theater,
and Manfred Jenning writed the screenplays and directed the films. The stamps, issued under the motto "Doing good - helping with stamps", are the annually series released by the Federal Ministry of Finance, with a surcharge, which is specify on every stamp after five colored dots which form a plus. The money collected in this way are administrated by the Stiftung Deutsche Jugendmarke, which use them to promote measures for the well-being of young people in Germany.
Urmel aus dem Eis (0,70+0,30 EUR)
Kleiner König Kalle Wirsch (0,85+0,40 EUR) - It's on the postcard 3165
Kater Mikesch (1,45+0,55 EUR)

The second stamp belong to the set Blumen, about which I wrote here

References
Schnoor - Wikipedia

Sender: Jorn Hegner (direct swap)
Sent from Bremen (Bremen / Germany), on 23.09.2017 

Photos: Thorsten Taubhorn

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