Harriersand The riverine island Harriersand is eleven kilometers long and is located directly adjacent to the center of Brake. It received ist current form as a result oft he so-called “Weser correction”. Thereby, the Lower Weser was straightened and deepened from Bremen down to the estuary, as it flows into the North Sea near Bremerhaven. In the course of this technical masterpiece, a revolutionary achievement under the direction of Bremen´s Chief Construction Officer, Ludwig Franzius (1832-1903), Harriersand was formed by uniting seven riverine islands along Brake´s coast. Harriersand is now home to 150 holiday cottages, a campsite and many small sand beaches. The ferry GUNTSIET travels regularly between Brake and Harriersand. [More]
Fisher House In the middle of the 18th century, the first steps were made towards a municipally oriented settlement structure in Brake. In 1746, some 28 residential houses were documented in Brake. Craftsmen, merchants, fishermen, barge shippers and maritime pilots lived here. Among the latter war a man named Addick Addicks. In 1731, he and his wife Elisabeth commissioned the construction of the building now known as the “Fischerhaus” (“Fisher House”). It is one of the oldest houses in Brake, a so-called Low German Hall House. At the beginning of the 1990s, the house was painstakingly restored. In the meantime, the atmospherically charming rooms are often the settings of weddings. Additionally, Brake´s Heritage Society and the Association “Culture in the Fisher House” host concerts, small presentations and readings in the house. [More]
Duckdalben The term „Duckdalben “refers to mooring dolphins for ships in harbors, and these non-swimming dolphins are rammed into the ground and arranged in groups of three. Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig von Oldenburg (1755-1829) commissioned the first „Duckdalben“ along the Weser waterway parallel to Brake, offering the numerous ships a chance to tie up along the pier. In 1790, as many as 138 vessels made use of the dolphins. Indeed, these dolphins served as the basis for the subsequent upturn in maritime traffic and cargo handling in Brake, with the expansion of the harbor amd the Stromkaje following in the wake of these developments. This museum exhibit showing significant traces of usage is an example of such a dolphin, and it is often an object in artistic presentations. [More]
Mayor's House In 1856, Brake received the official designation as a city, along with Varel and Elsfleth, and this move forward was accompanied, at least for some years, by an economic upturn. The Mayor´s House (“Bürgermeisterhaus”) is a city mansion in the late classical style and serves as an architectural articulation of wealth. It was built in 1862 by Johann Friedrich Schumacher, a captain from Elsfleth.Between 1881 and 1909, it was the residence and office of his In 1856, Brake received the official designation as a city, along with Varel and Elsfleth, and this move forward was accompanied, at least for some years, by an economic upturn. The Mayor´s House (“Bürgermeisterhaus”) is a city mansion in the late classical style and serves as an architectural articulation of wealth. It was built in 1862 by Johann Friedrich Schumacher, a captain from Elsfleth. Between 1881 and 1909, it was the residence and office of his son, Friedrich August Schumacher, who served for some 28 years as the mayor of the city of Brake and died on 27 May 1909, shortly after retiring from that office. He took care of all official business from his private home, the name of which recalls these days. Today, several rental apartments are located within the house. [More]
Plan Street C Between 1780 and 1803, the regional economy boomed. The upturn caused by harbor business offered many new opportunities for earning money. The high price of real estate properties, on the other hand, discouraged many people from settling in the area. As a result, Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig von Oldenburg (1755-1829) decreed that land parcels between the Middle Dyke and the old street Heerstrasse be publicly purchased, and this led to the presence of more affordable properties along the so-called “Plan Street C” which led from the pier straight into the hinterland. This “Plan Street C” evolved into the “Breite Strasse” (literals “Wide Street”). Simultaneously, the “Plan Street G” and the later “Lindenstrasse” came into being. The properties were enormously popular. In 1793, Brake had a population of 850 residents. In the following 20 years, this figure was doubled. [More]
Brake Harbor The modern, multi-functional special ship harbor Brake with the international call sign DEBKE has been operated by the Lower Saxony Ports GmbH & Co. KG since 2005. The owner ist he State of Lower Saxony. Ships coming from the North sea and having drafts slightly exceeding twelve meters can reach Brake´s Stromkajen which has a length of 2.5 kilometers. A railway connection and modern truck terminals provide for an ideal traffic infrsstructure. In particular, bulk products such as grain, animal feed, sulphur, minerals and wood products, but also iron ore and project / heavy lift goods are handled in Brake. The imposing silos of the company J. Müller, founded 1821, have been part of the harbor ambience of Brake for a long time. [More]
Plassmann's Villa The art nouveau villa with the crest above the impressive gateway belonged to the wood trader Wilhelm Plassmann (1852-1931). In 1907, he commissioned its construction by the architects Hans and Heinrich Lassen from Bremen. Actually, it was his second residential house in Brake. Wood trading was a flourishing industry. Plassman supplied above all the numerous shipyards of wooden ships with his highly desired construction material – such as, for example, the shipyard of Ide Oltmann in the immediate vicinity. However, even the suppliers of the shipyards as well as many building and carpentry business were among his customers.Around 1900, the affluent class in Brake began copying the British style of living with great enthusiasm. Even today, the villas document the wealth once prevalent in the maritime city of Brake. [More]
Maritime Museum - Haus Borgstede & Becker The packing house was built in 1808 by the ship broker and the subsequent shipyard owner Hinrich Oltmanns. It served as an interim storage facility of the company “Oltmanns & Seeman”, allowing freight and commercial goods to be temporarily kept until their further transport by ship. On the ground floor, a ship´s chandler store was opened from early on.As of 1818, the British Vice Consul and an agent of the North German Lloyd, John Saville MacNamara, lived here with his wife, who became entwined with countless legends. Following MacNamars death in 1845, Johann Hinrich Borgstede and Julius Ludwig Becker, two businessmen from Brake, purchased the building, and this became the exclusive property of Becker a year later, remaining in the family until 1979. In 1985, this house, known as “Haus Borgstede & Becker”, became the second site of the Maritime Museum of the Oldenburgian Lower Weser. [More]