Focke Museum

It opened in 1900 in the cloister and refectory of the former Monastery of St. Katherine in the centre of Bremen, with a collection of exhibits related to the history of the city which Focke had been assembling since 1880.

Gifts from residents caused the collection to outgrow the available space, and in 1905 it was moved to an annexe of the Bremen Cathedral and then in 1913 to a Baroque building which had been an old people's home, in Großenstraße in the Stephaniviertel neighbourhood on the far west of the old city.

For the first time pre-historic and early historical items were added; Grohne himself collected some of these on archaeological digs beginning in 1931.

The 1964 building was modernised in 1996–98 and reopened with a new permanent exhibition on the history of Bremen, spanning over 1200 years from medieval archaeological finds to the rebuilding after the Second World War.

[1] Exhibits include the head of the Bremen Roland, sandstone statues from Bremen Town Hall, cars by Borgward, machinery from the Koch & Bergfeld silverware company, models representing shipbuilding in the state in the 20th century, and also a curiosity: the Complimentarius, an automaton who used to greet people coming up the steps into the great hall of the Schütting.

Designed by the Bremen architect Gert Schulze, it is in the form of a cube, clad in copper which gives it a green colour.

The decommissioned lifeboat Paul Denker, the first all-aluminium craft built for the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service, is on display in the courtyard between the main building and the extension.

It is thatched with reeds and houses the department of pre-history and early history, covering the cultural development of the region from 350,000 BCE until the 8th century.

There is a large amount of material related to the Saxon period, with exhibits in particular from the Migration Age and early medieval cemetery at Mahndorf.

The museum is set in 4.5 hectares (11 acres) of parkland, with the different buildings being connected by gardens with sculptures and sundials.

The park includes water features and both a botanical collection with many exotics and a farm garden at Haus Mittelsbüren displaying indigenous flowers and herbs.

The museum also offers special exhibitions on topics relating to the history of Bremen, crafts and design, and photography and other arts.