shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileGermany

on the lower Weser, sixty kilometres before the North Sea

Bremen

— a free city, with a donkey on its rooftop.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“A free Hanseatic city on the lower Weser, sixty kilometres before the river reaches the sea. The market square holds the Roland statue from 1404 and the gabled town hall on UNESCO's list. A few streets south, the medieval Schnoor quarter narrows into footways the width of two sets of shoulders. The Brothers Grimm sent four animals here in their tale; the bronze of them still stands at the town hall's western wall.

from the studio

— bring it home

Bremen, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Bremen

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

Bremen sits on the lower Weser river in northwest Germany, about sixty kilometres upstream from the North Sea. Together with the port of Bremerhaven, it forms the smallest of Germany's sixteen federal states, the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. The city itself counts roughly 570,000 residents and traces its charter to 787, when Charlemagne established the Diocese of Bremen. Membership in the Hanseatic League brought the city its self-governing status, and it has held the title "Free Hanseatic City" continuously since the medieval merchant alliance.

— informed by Wikipedia

— the stone

The Bremen Roland was raised in 1404 in the centre of the market square, a 5.5-metre limestone figure that has stood for over six centuries as the legal sign of the city's freedom and trading rights. The Town Hall behind him was completed in 1410 in Gothic style and refaced in Weser Renaissance between 1595 and 1612. UNESCO inscribed both together as a single World Heritage Site in 2004, citing the Town Hall and Roland as a rare surviving emblem of medieval civic liberty in continental Europe.

— informed by UNESCO

— the year

The Brothers Grimm collected "The Town Musicians of Bremen" in 1819. The story sends a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster toward the city to become musicians; the four never quite arrive. The bronze sculpture by Gerhard Marcks, set against the western wall of the Town Hall in 1953, has become the city's secondary emblem. Tradition holds that grasping the donkey's front legs and making a wish brings good fortune; the legs are polished to a hard yellow shine.

— informed by Wikipedia

— where

Germany · Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen

— elevation

12 m · 39 ft

— position

53.0793° N · 8.8017° E

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

60 km N

Bremerhaven

port city

120 km E

Hamburg

Hanseatic city

45 km W

Oldenburg

ducal town

Bremen

Bremerhaven

Hamburg

Oldenburg

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Bremen — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

On the lower Weser river in northwest Germany, about sixty kilometres upstream from the North Sea. With the port of Bremerhaven, it forms the smallest of Germany's sixteen federal states, the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen.

Charlemagne established the Diocese of Bremen in 787, giving the city its earliest charter. It joined the Hanseatic League in 1260 and has held the title "Free Hanseatic City" continuously since the medieval merchant alliance.

A 5.5-metre limestone statue raised in 1404 in the centre of the market square. It has stood for more than six centuries as the legal sign of the city's freedom and trading rights, and is part of the 2004 UNESCO inscription with the Town Hall.

It is one of the few intact examples of an unbroken civic building from the Gothic into the Weser Renaissance, completed in 1410 and refaced between 1595 and 1612. UNESCO inscribed the Town Hall and Roland together in 2004.

A donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster from a Brothers Grimm tale collected in 1819. The four set out for Bremen to become musicians but never quite arrive. Gerhard Marcks's bronze stands against the Town Hall's western wall, placed in 1953.

The oldest surviving district of Bremen, a network of narrow medieval lanes south of the market square. Many houses date from the 15th to 18th centuries; some passageways are no wider than two sets of shoulders.

— about the piece in your home

It travels warmly. A Medium or Large has gone to families with roots in the Hanseatic ports, to Bremen-born children abroad, and to readers of the Grimm tales. A handwritten studio note helps it land.

Yes. The Keepsake or Small reads beautifully on a child's shelf, and the four animals appear in the artwork. Pair with a Coaster Set of related vistas for a complete first atlas of Bremen.

The Hanseatic palette of brick red, slate, and weathered limestone suits North European Modern, Scandinavian Heritage, and warm Library Eclectic interiors. It also anchors a Modern Coastal room when softened with linen and pale oak.

A single Large reads at the right scale above a standard sofa. A 4-tile Mural carries a wider wall; a 9-tile Mural sits above a long console or in a stairwell where the rooflines have room to read.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both resist steam and scratching for vertical kitchen or bath installs. The Glossy finish is best on framed wall pieces in dry rooms.

A soft microfibre cloth slightly damp with water. No cleansers, no abrasives. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface itself, so nothing on top can dull or strip it.

— if this one stayed with you

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