Town Musicians of Bremen (Bremer Stadtmusikanten)
A donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster balanced one atop the other in gleaming bronze, this beloved statue brings a fairy tale to life beside the Town Hall. Rub the donkey's polished front legs and, so the locals say, your wish just might come true.
About this place
Tucked against the western flank of Bremen's UNESCO-listed Town Hall stands the city's most photographed and most touched landmark. Created by the sculptor Gerhard Marcks and unveiled in 1953, the roughly two-metre bronze depicts the four heroes of the Brothers Grimm tale in their famous pyramid, the donkey at the base, then the dog, the cat and the crowing rooster on top. Slender, stylised and unmistakably modern, the figures caused a stir when they first appeared and were even set up on a trial basis, yet within a generation they had become the affectionate face of Bremen. Today a steady queue of visitors reaches for the donkey's front legs, worn to a mirror shine by decades of hopeful hands, each hoping to carry away a little of the luck the animals never quite found in the story itself.
Key facts
- 1953 year — The bronze statue was created by German sculptor Gerhard Marcks and unveiled beside the Town Hall
- 2 metres — The height of the sculpture, smaller than life-size yet the most touched landmark in the city
- 4 animals — A donkey, dog, cat and rooster stacked into the tale's famous living pyramid
📍 Unser Lieben Frauen Kirchhof, 28195, Bremen