Bremen
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Bremen. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city of Germany, formerly an independent member of the Empire, one of the three Hanse towns, on the Weser, about 50 miles from its mouth, in its own small territory of 99 square miles, besides which it possesses the port of Bremerhaven, at the mouth of the river. The city is partly on the right, partly on the left, bank of the Weser, the larger portion being on the former. It contains the cathedral, founded about 1050, the old Gothic Council house, with the famous wine cellar below it, the Town Hall, the Merchants' House, and the Old and the New Exchange. The Vorstadt, or suburbs, lying on the right bank, outside the ramparts of the old town, are extensive. The manufacturing establishments consist of tobacco and cigar factories, sugar refineries, rice mills, iron foundries, machine works, rope and sail works, and shipbuilding yards. Its situation renders Bremen the emporium for Hanover, Brunswick, Hesse, and other countries traversed by the Weser, and next to Hamburg it is the principal seat of the export and import and emigration trade of Germany. Only small vessels can pass up to the city itself; the great bulk of the shipping trade centers in Bremerhaven and Geestemünde. Bremerhaven has docks capable of receiving the largest vessels, and is connected by railway with Bremen. The chief imports are tobacco, raw cotton and cotton goods, wool and woolen goods, rice, coffee, grain, petroleum, etc. Pop. with Bremerhaven, about 248,000. Bremen was made a bishopric by Charlemagne about 788, was afterward made an archbishopric, and by the end of the 14th century had become virtually a free imperial city. The present constitution is in most respects republican and was adopted in 1854. The legislative authority is shared by a Senate of 18 citizens, elected for life, and an assembly of 150 citizens, elected for 6 years. The executive lies with the Senate and Senatorial committees.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
brem'en, an important commercial city of northwestern Germany. It is situated at the head of deep-water navigation on the Weser River, thirty-seven miles from the North Sea . Bremerhaven at the mouth of the Weser is its port, though ships drawing no more than seventeen feet of water may ascend to Bremen. With ninety-nine square miles of territory, the city constitutes "an independent republic," and is one of the states forming the German Empire . Among the cities of Germany Bremen ranks next to Hamburg in foreign commerce. Its port is entered by 3,000 sea-going vessels a year. Bremen merchants own 613 of these. The North German Lloyd company, with 213 ships, has head-quarters here. Each year goods to the value of $216,000,000 are shipped outward and goods to an equal value are received from abroad. Bremen is a large buyer of raw cotton, coffee, and petroleum. In 1902, 143,329 German emigrants set sail from Bremerhaven, chiefly for America. In 788 Bremen was granted a bishop by Charlemagne. The city was a member off and on of the famous Hanseatic League. Bremen is a typical German city. The old walls have been leveled to make way for boulevards. At the center is a marketplace and a fine old city hall with stained glass windows, great hall, and a handsome carved stairway. A cathedral, a Gothic exchange, numerous statues of celebrities, fountains, queer old gables, crooked streets, and quaint shops make the city a delightful place for a ramble. Population in 1905, 263,440. See Germany ; Hanseatic League 2026 Editor's Note: Bremen is still a city-state, one of Germany's sixteen federal states despite its size — a survival of the free Hanseatic city the entry describes. Its emblem is a fairy tale it borrowed: the Town Musicians of Bremen , the donkey, dog, cat and cockerel of the Grimm story, stand in bronze by the town hall, though in the tale they never actually reach the city. (Ed: BR 2026-06-23)