Bremen wine cellar

Bremen wine cellar in 1900

The Bremen wine cellar ( German: Bremer Ratskeller , Ratskeller , "Cellar at the Town Hall") is a traditional pub in the basement of the Bremen Town Hall . Since 1973, it is available as part of a complex of historical buildings ^[1] . Since its construction in 1405, German wines are stored and sold here. With more than 600 years of history, Ratskeller is one of Germany's oldest wine cellars , as well as the oldest German wine shop selling unique barrel wine: the oldest wine was made in 1653 in Rüdesheim .

Underground layout:
1) The Great Hall
2) The limit of Bacchus,
3) Gauf Hall,
4) Cellars of the Apostles and Roses,
5) Kaiserova and Senate rooms,
6) Bacchus Cellar,
7) Guild office and old storage,
8) Warehouse and new storage

The whole complex has an area of ​​more than 5000 m2 and spreads under the Old and New Town Halls, church and city square.

Since 1330, the Bremen City Council had the privilege of monopolistic trade in white wine in the city, which expired in 1815. According to the document, since 1342 a ban was introduced on the sale of wine to citizens without the permission of the Council. For this purpose, a large wine cellar was created, where wine producers brought. Thus, price and tax collection were controlled. After the construction of the Old Town Hall in 1405, wine barrels were transported to its cellars. Initially, it was possible to choose wines here only by two criteria: price and aging period, since all wines were made from grapes grown in the Rhine Valley.

In 1550, the wine cellar was expanded, divided into the "cellar of the Apostles" and the "Senate room", and in 1599 the "cellar of the Rose" was added to them. There are numerous cozy rooms in which a group of three people can still be seated behind wooden doors so as not to attract the views of other visitors. These rooms were created around 1600 and are heated using small stoves. In 1620, the institution expanded even further; the “ Bacchus cellar” and the “Gauf cellar” (named later) were completed.

In 1805, French soldiers plundered part of the reserves. After, during the Second World War , the Americans did the same, who used the premises as a cabin for officers.

Today, the entire wine cellar belongs to the Ratskeller GmbH organization, which belongs to the municipality. Ratskeller has the world's largest collection of exclusively German wines - about 650 varieties, and a total of about 1,200 different alcoholic drinks are available to visitors. The gastronomic area of ​​the wine cellar is managed by the tenant - Hotel zur Post.

Several works of German authors are associated with the theme of the Bremen wine cellar, including Wilhelm Gauf 's Phantasmagoria in the Bremen Wine Cellar . Later, one of the halls of the underground institution was named after the author.