Port town

The "free Hanseatic state of Bremen" is the smallest state in Germany. It has just 660,000 inhabitants. As a member of the Hanseatic League in earlier times, the merchants of the state became wealthy.

A 10-meter-high (33-foot) stone statue of the Christian literary figure of Roland stands in front of the town hall of Bremen. The town's emblem, it represents the independence of growing cities from the local nobility.

Second city: Bremerhaven

The state's second city after Bremen is Bremerhaven, on the North Sea. City hall and public offices are located in Bremen, while Bremerhaven is Germany's second-most important seaport, after Hamburg. As such, it is the state's economic center.

The port provides a quarter of all jobs. But traditional economic sectors like shipbuilding and steel have lost their importance. Daimler AG has its second-largest German plant in Bremen, and coffee processing is also a big industry. Bremerhaven is the biggest European producer of frozen foods.