Staatsarchiv

Staatsarchiv stands in Bremen as the state archive for the city and state, preserving records that reach back to the Middle Ages. You would find city charters, contracts, privileges and titles alongside files from the council, writing office and judicial registry.

The earliest mention appears in a chronicle from 1221, while Bremen’s oldest surviving privilege dates from 1159. In 1727, Hermann Post became the first professional archivist and separated administrative records from judicial documents. A new building united all collections in 1909, and the holdings now extend beyond paper to posters, photographs and audiovisual material.

The collection began in the Tresekammer, a treasury chamber in the north tower of the Church of Our Lady. Two senior mayors once held its keys, while access remained limited to council members.

City: Bremen
Content updated: 2026-06-22

Image: Unknown authorUnknown authorPublic domain
Image: Joachim Koetzle, Staatsarchiv Bremen CC BY-SA 3.0
Image: C. JunghansPublic domain
Image: Unidentified painterPublic domain
Image: Photo taken by the Staatsarchiv Bremen / Document written by emperor Ferdinand IIIPublic domain

Take this page with you

The myTuur app is free, and once you are standing at a spot its story starts by itself.

Spots like this one are the stops myTuur strings into tours through Bremen. In the app, each story begins where you stand: walk up to a spot and it starts, read it on screen or listen as you go, then follow the route to the next one.

What is myTuur?

myTuur is a free city-guide app. Its tours are built from spots, and each spot carries a story that starts when you get there, to read or to listen to as you like.