Plot

German postage stamp dedicated to the fairy tale. 1982

The main characters of the fairy tale - a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster, offended by their owners - go to the city of Bremen to become city musicians.

Only they could not reach Bremen in one day and decided to spend the night in the forest. The donkey and the dog went to sleep under a large tree, the cat settled on the branches, and the rooster flew to the very top of the tree - it seemed safest there.

Stopping along the way in the forest, they discover a robber's hut. The Bremen musicians climb on top of each other and perform their “music” (The donkey brayed, the dog barked, the cat meowed, the rooster crowed). The robbers run away in fear.

Each of the Bremen musicians goes to bed according to his own taste and habits: the donkey lies down in the yard, on a heap of garbage, the dog - outside the door, the cat - on the hearth, and the rooster sits on the roof of the robber's hut.

Monument Bremen musicians in Bremen (Bremen, Germany) - description, history, location, reviews, photos and videos.

• Tours for May Worldwide
• Last minute tours Worldwide

Previous photo Next photo

There are probably no tourists who have visited Bremen and not taken photos near the monument to the Bremen musicians. The bronze sculpture standing on the Market Square is, without exaggeration, a symbol of the modern city. The monument to the Bremen musicians is a kind of pyramid of standing friend on another character from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale of the same name. To be more precise, a dog is standing on a donkey, a cat is on it, and a rooster is climbing the highest. Near these fairy-tale heroes it is never deserted. Quite the opposite: there are so many people who want to photograph themselves against the backdrop of wandering musicians that a decent queue often forms here.

There is a long-standing legend associated with the monument to the Bremen Town Musicians in Bremen. So, being next to the sculpture, every tourist can make a wish, and in order for it to come true, you need to take hold of both legs of the donkey and lightly rub them.

From the history of the monument to the Bremen Town Musicians in Bremen, it is known that it was erected on the Market Square in 1951, and its author was one of the most outstanding German sculptors of the 20th century, Gerhard Marx. By the way, the sculpture is adjacent to another famous landmark of Bremen - the medieval Town Hall. This is partly why there are always a lot of tourists near the monument to the Bremen musicians.

By the way, there is a long-standing legend associated with the monument to the Bremen musicians in Bremen. So, being next to the sculpture, everyone can make a wish, and in order for it to come true, you need to do the following. Grab both of the donkey's legs and rub them lightly. Judging by the donkey's polished limbs, many tourists have taken advantage of this tradition.

And don’t forget: you need to grab both legs fairy tale character, otherwise your wish will not come true; in addition, you risk hearing the well-established phrase in Bremen in such cases that one “donkey” greets another. This is the humor of the locals, you definitely shouldn’t be offended by it.

The monument to the Bremen Town Musicians in Bremen can be reached by buses No. 24 and 25, as well as by trams with routes No. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8. Let us remind you that the monument to the Bremen Town Musicians stands next to the two-story Town Hall building, designed in the Renaissance style . Address: Am Markt 21.

Young, no one famous composer Gennady Gladkov, poet Yuri Entin and film director Inessa Kovalevskaya decided to make an animated musical for children. What a musical was was roughly known, but the authors did not know what an animated one, and even a children’s one, was. But they really wanted the viewer to “sing the cartoon”...

Gradually the outline began to emerge. It was best to take a simple and well-known fairy tale as the basis for a musical animated film, so that the plot could be understood from the actions of the characters. And instead of storytelling, all efforts should be directed towards creating musical images of heroes. All that remained was to find a fairy tale, but try to find one that no one has yet filmed?

No one will remember who exactly had the idea to make an animated musical based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “The Town Musicians of Bremen.” She was not the best from the collection of famous storytellers. The owners drove the Dog, Cat, Donkey and Rooster out of the yard as unnecessary. The poor fellows were forced to wander the roads and gradually became wandering musicians. The episode with the robbers slightly embellishes the fairy tale, diversifying its action. But the dramaturgy of the film had to be reinvented so that it would become interesting, dynamic and fit within the framework of a musical.

At this stage, V. Livanov joined the work on the script as a second screenwriter. So, "Bremen Town Musicians"!

There is a Dog, a Cat, a Donkey and a Rooster - wandering musicians or, speaking modern language, musical ensemble.
Well, what about without music director?! He became the Young Man, who later became the Troubadour. But, if the hero is Troubadour, then there must certainly be a Princess in the fairy tale! And the Princess, naturally, has a father, the King, with his royal palace and a crowd of courtiers. For the Brothers Grimm, the whole drama comes down mainly to the episode with the robbers, which means being a royal guard for protection.

Now, all the heroes of the future film have been named.

The film was born from such unsightly sketches:

I would like to note the peculiarity of Yu. Entin’s poems written for this film. They are very expressive, precise, full of humor and clearly characterize the singing characters.
There are a lot of funny puns in the poems:

“Oh, the security gets up early!” “Any roads are dear to us!” “I lost my peace in the royal chambers!” and “I’m locked in the castle!”
“Without my dear Princess, life is not sweet to me!”

All these literary jokes greatly decorate the songs, making them entertaining and memorable.

(Gennady Gladkov, Inessa Kovalevskaya.... Max Zherebchevsky)

While the fairy tale was taking shape, composer Gennady Gladkov was writing music for it. Not only the group working on the film immediately liked the verses, but other studio members also sang them.

Soyuzmultfilm did not have the necessary capabilities to record the music as the composer intended it. We negotiated with the Melodiya recording studio for a long time. They invited the Accord quartet, which was very popular at that time, consisting of two women's voices and two men's. The recording was scheduled for the night - there was no other free time at the Melodiya studio.

The music was recorded by a small orchestra consisting mainly of young musicians. The orchestra was conducted by the composer himself, Gennady Gladkov. It was the singers' turn. Oleg Anofriev was offered to sing the Troubadour part - theater actor with a pleasant voice.

At the very last moment it turns out that the Accord quartet did not show up for the recording!

Is it really possible to abandon the Melodiya studio, obtained with such difficulty? Catastrophe!

In the middle of the night we managed to get through to singer Elmira Zherzdeva and poet and singer Anatoly Gorokhov...

We've arrived!

Anatoly Gorokhov

Oleg Anofriev and Elmira Zherzdeva

Yuri Entin (right)

It was a shame that the recording began... It’s just happiness that a wonderful sound engineer and later composer Viktor Babushkin took part in the creation of the film.

We recorded Troubadour's serenade, his duet with the Princess. It was the turn of the ensembles. And then, as it turned out, Oleg Anofriev is a good imitator. The sound engineer recorded the singer on separate tracks, then connected everything together, adding the rich bass of Anatoly Gorokhov.

Big secret! – Gennady Gladkov sang for the King in a weak tenor.

We got to the verses of real robbers and again there was a dead end... The head of the gang should be a woman - Atamansha. Elmira Zherzdeva's lyric soprano was in no way suitable for this. And then Oleg Anofriev offered to sing for Atamansha too! Everyone was dumbfounded. But he insisted, then asked which actress should be “seen” in the role of Atamansha?
- Most likely, Faina Ranevskaya?
- Great! I’ll try “under Ranevskaya”! - Anofriev said and went to the microphone.
The recording ended successfully. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. As they say, in Russian folk proverb– no, it’s a silver lining! The Melodiya recording studio left in the morning. Moscow, which had not yet woken up, with clean streets and rare cars, seemed beautiful, life was amazing and completely happy...

Max Zherebchevsky and Inessa Kovalevskaya

Let's talk about directing for the first time. Why is it needed and what does the director do?
A screenwriter writes a script, a poet writes poetry, a composer composes music, an artist draws characters, actors voice roles, animators bring characters to life.
What is left to the director?
Each of the participants in the creation of the film sees future movie in my own way. The director’s task is to piece together a mosaic of creative perceptions so that they look whole and not scattered. At the same time, take into account that everyone creative person very vulnerable and has difficulty accepting criticism.
The preparatory period for the film was ending, and disputes with the artist were in full swing.

- Then I decided to take a rather risky step,- recalls Inessa Kovalevskaya, – to present to the Art Council of the film studio, along with the director’s script, storyboard and music, precisely these characters, which, in my opinion, are completely inconsonant with either the music or the genre of the film.

There was hope that instead of taking offense, the artist would listen to the opinions of the members of the Arts Council.

The members of the Artistic Council were surprisingly unanimous in their opinion that these characters did not correspond to the script, and especially to the music.

We must pay tribute to Max Zherebchevsky - he agreed. After searches and new disputes, the Troubadour type was found in some foreign magazine with portraits of avant-garde musicians. The princess with funny tails sticking out in different directions was suggested by assistant production designer Svetlana Skrebneva. The director found the dress for the Princess while leafing through fashionable foreign magazines in the closed library of Goskino.

The rest of the musicians also appeared in a new form. Even the carriage became a suitcase on wheels. The king, guards and courtiers did not pose any difficulties, but the robbers...

Robbers are fairly common characters, but we need special ones, unlike anyone else! The film went into production, but there were no “own” robbers. A secret competition was announced at the studio. But it was not all that! One fine day, and it was certainly the most beautiful, studio editor Natalya Abramova brought a colorful calendar, which depicted a trio of the most famous comedians of that time: Yuri Nikulin - a dunce, Georgy Vitsyn - a coward and Evgeny Morgunov - an experienced one.

These are our heroes! Robbers! The chieftain had to be made to match everyone else.

The script is accompanied by a storyboard; it resembles modern comic books and consists of frame drawings. Unfortunately, only the director's sketches have survived.

The film is shot out of order, all the scenes are scattered and in order for everything to come together into a single whole, the director's script and storyboard are the main guide for everyone working on the film.

The preparatory period ends with a meeting of the artistic council of the film studio, which accepts all the work done. The creative and production group is being approved. It includes:

film director I. Kovalevskaya
production designer M. Zherebchevsky
cameraman E. Petrova
sound engineer V. Babushkin
Director assistant
assistant artist S. Skrebneva
editor E. Tertychnaya
editor A. Snesarev
group of cartoonists
Director of the film

What do wizards do?

(paint laboratory at the studio)

When everything is invented, you need to show all these fantasies to the viewer. But such painted artists do not exist in life and they should not exist like real people. Who will make the fantasy move? Looking for wizards? But they found them and even raised them.

At one time, the Soyuzmultfilm film studio itself trained its personnel in special courses. They came here very young, studied here and then worked here practically their entire lives.

In the studio, everyone had a permanent place with an indispensable mirror. The cartoonist will look in the mirror, imagine himself as a wolf or a kitten and transfer everything to paper!
No one was surprised if someone suddenly meowed or hopped around like a bunny in the studio corridor - it was just the artist getting into character!

Sometimes the profession of an animator is compared to that of an actor. An ordinary actor gets used to the role, adapting his body and creating an image out of it.

The animator not only gets used to the role, he creates an image that does not exist in nature. Gives him gait, habits, character, connects him with his voice. Even when his hero is “not alive.” Try to imagine how the chair moves, how the table dreams, how the pillows get angry or how the spoons dance! You can not? So you are not an animator!

Of course, every animator has his own preferences: one likes dynamic characters, another likes lyrical ones, a third prefers musical material. Some people like psychological scenes, while others like fights and chases. But, in principle, everyone should be able to get away with everything.

In an animated film, each individual scene is done by one single animator. He plays and draws one for all. Of course, the director tries to choose a task for the animator so that the same characters appear in the scenes, but this is rarely possible.

To make a film on time, several animators are simultaneously involved in working on the film. On average 3-5. Each animator brings the peculiarities of his creative style. At the same time, while preserving all the good things that the performer came up with, it is necessary to preserve the integrity of the film.
The more animators work on a film, the more difficult it is for the director and production designer.

“As for the film “Musicians of Bremen,” 16 animators worked on it at the same time. Only very little directorial experience could force me to undertake such an experiment. I never allowed myself to do this again!- says Inessa Kovalevskaya, - Since I met most of the animators for the first time on the film “The Town Musicians of Bremen,” the scene assignments were initially handed out at random, without taking into account or knowing the abilities and characteristics of the given performer. Only after some time, after watching the first samples of the cartoon, I began to better understand who and what kind of work to offer.”

Despite the difficulties and creative disputes, fate bound many for long happy years collaboration.

Ella Maslova recalls:

“I worked on many films directed by I. Kovalevskaya. Every time after the end of the film there was a feeling of celebration. I think that the audience, after watching these musical cartoons, feels the same way.
I would also like to tell you about the amazing profession of an animator. It’s tempting to write this word with a capital letter.
This is an artist-actor who must be a comprehensively gifted person. He must have skills in other professions: musician, dancer, athlete, etc. Constantly observing everything that happens around, the animator spies on the habits of animals and birds.
A cartoonist can be compared to a wizard who can bring drawn people, animals, and birds to life, giving each one its own character.

For example, in the film “The Musicians of Bremen,” while developing the scene with the cat fakir, I had to remember how a fakir works in a circus. How his hands move, how he manipulates his cloak, from which strange objects appear.

Many wonderful films were made at the studio during my 40 years of work in animation, but I received the greatest satisfaction working on musical films, in particular those created by director I. Kovalevskaya. These films not only cultivate taste and love for music, but also instill goodness in people. Our children especially need this.”

It’s a shame that a tradition has already developed when songs from cartoons were joyfully picked up by children and adults, becoming almost a “national treasure”, lost.

It is almost impossible to explain only in words what kind of dance it should be; for this you need to be a choreographer. The director showed it to the animator as best she could, who listened to the music many times and noted notes on the exposure sheets. Then he copied the recording onto his tape recorder and left, singing...

“The scene turned out exactly as I imagined it and even better!”- recalls Inessa Kovalevskaya.

Inspired by luck, the director suggested that Davydov take the famous song of the false robbers, in which the heroes dressed as musicians: “bang - bang - and you are dead!” Almost all the characters in the film were involved here.

“It seems to me that this method of work is the most interesting for a cartoonist, as it gives a lot of scope for independence and does not constrain his creative imagination. But, of course, only when this creative imagination is available in sufficient quantities. This fully applies to Sasha Davydov. I wouldn't even call him a good drawer. But his ability to listen and hear music (which is not the same thing at all), his ability to accurately place accents in the movements of characters, his heightened sense of screen time are simply remarkable!”- says Inessa Alekseevna.

Oleg Safronov loved temperamental, dynamic scenes. And he was especially good at bright, eccentric characters. It so happened that it was very important episode with the robbers and the Atamansha, the animator to whom the scenes were given did not turn out very well. When the scene was handed over to Oleg Safronov, the episode began to play, became passionate, defiantly mischievous.

Digressing from the topic, you can tell a funny incident related to the robbery episode.
After the end of the film, the creative group of directors went to Kazan with new films: “Musicians of Bremen”, “Spy Passions”, “Cheburashka”, etc.
The reception was wonderful. The group was accompanied by a very serious and not talkative official from the local rental office. After a short performance, the audience watched the program, and the group behind the scenes sat down at the table, listening out of the corner of their ears to the reaction of the audience. And every time, as soon as it came to the number with the robbers, “our serious official” embarrassedly apologized, got out from behind the table and went to the auditorium to watch his favorite bandit number. With a wide smile he returned to the table. It’s hard to say how many times he watched and listened to this number.

“Oh, it’s early, the security is up!”
The viewer saw, heard and remembered!
This is a great merit of the artist and animator Vitaly Bobrov. His accents, discoveries in his gait and facial expressions captured a vivid episode that the viewer loved.
An excellent draftsman who was good at both people and animals, dynamics and lyrics, a dreamer and inventor, sincerely passionate about his work.

The rough sample tape is glued into a ring and run many times in a row. Everyone is extremely tense. Immediately the director and artist make their amendments. Discussion and controversy arise.

Viewing rough samples, both your own and others’, is an excellent school for cartoonists, where you can learn a lot, hear a detailed assessment of your work, and see your own mistakes.

Gradually, as the animation is ready, the film studio’s workshops get involved: drawing, phasing, contouring, filling. More and more studio people are working on our film. This is no longer a dozen, but a good hundred pairs of skillful and hardworking hands.

Phasing - rough, finishing or on celluloid - connects the layouts that the animator makes into a single whole, which creates movement on the screen. And finally, shading, when the characters change from outline, transparent ones to full-fledged, colored heroes of the film.

(fill)

All these stages of work go through endless checks, finishing touches, and clarifications so that there is no shaky outline or error in the coloring of the characters on the screen.

It was a particularly busy time towards the end of the film, so we stayed in the evenings and worked on weekends. Other groups rushed to help, because they knew that they would be helped in the same way.

I would like to note that the filming equipment was antediluvian and home-made, but, as it has now turned out, very good films were shot on it.

The 1969 Arts Council was crowded; in addition to studio members, it included famous writers, poets, artists, composers, whose opinions were quite professional. The studios received the film more than critically. One of the oldest and most respected Masters certainly demanded voiceover. Another, no less respected, fiercely criticized, arguing that it was impossible to film like that. By the end of the discussion, the fate of the film had no prospects.

Only “non-professionals” saved the situation. Famous artist Boris Efimov (master political cartoons) said that, without pretending to be a professional analysis of the quality of the film, he received great pleasure from watching it, became ten years younger and will certainly show the film to his children and grandchildren and everyone he knows.

The film was accepted by Goskino and even in the first category.

The screening also took place in the Great Hall of the Cinema House. The audience reacted noisily to the ultra-modern outfits of the heroes, fell silent in amazement, recognizing their favorite movie characters in the robbers, and applauded unanimously and for a long time after watching. Some immediately sang melodies... “Oh, the guards get up early”
It was a complete success!

But the intrigue had not yet begun.

The next stage can be called a discussion of the film in the Union of Cinematographers with the involvement of film critics who are successfully plowing in the field of animation. The same thing happened here as at the studio Arts Council. What was new and interesting in the film was not discussed at all. The film irritated film critics. N. Asenin tried especially hard, speaking furiously and with conviction about the spoiled fairy tale. However, somewhere higher up, obviously at Goskino, they decided to send the film to the festival in Berlin. Original posters were prepared...
And suddenly, one day everything was cancelled!

Many years later, the intrigue was revealed. As people at Sovexportfilm said, one of the authoritative directors of Soyuzmultfilm and the Union of Cinematographers very actively intervened in this matter. Most likely it was his film that went to the festival.

Inessa Kovalevskaya says:
“When they tell me about cruel censorship in Soviet cinema, and especially in animation, I just smile sadly. Long experience of working in cinema - first at Goskino, and then at the studio - showed me (and not only through my example) that 90% of all “troubles” are provoked by your own work colleagues. Moreover, the reasons can be very different. An ordinary official wouldn’t even think of this.”

But the film still met with the audience. In Moscow, in the area of ​​Vosstaniya Square, a cinema of an animated film with the strange name “Barricade” opened. The premiere of “The Town Musicians of Bremen” took place here, and since then the film has not left the cinema’s repertoire for a long time. Crowds of parents with children of all ages flocked here from all over Moscow. Tickets sold out instantly and were difficult to obtain.

The film gradually gained popularity. One day in the summer of 1972, during a break in a match at the stadium, the attention of fans was focused on a young man dressed in red jeans and a pullover. He also looked like Troubadour - just as slender, fair-haired and white-toothed!
The young man stood in the passage at the very top, proud and contented, allowing himself to be viewed from all sides.

back side moon

The popularity was also promoted by the record released by the Melodiya record company almost simultaneously with the release of the film, and, thanks to this, received a huge circulation. This was undoubtedly pleasing, if not for one small circumstance. For the record it was only necessary to add text from the author, which is what V. Livanov did. The result is a musical fairy tale.

The only strange thing is that the work on the record was done in secret. On the beautiful sleeve of the record there was a modest annotation stating that an animated film had been made based on this fairy tale. Many film experts are confident that first Livanov made the record, and then the film appeared. In his book " White crow"V. Livanov tells how three friends (Gladkov, Entin and Livanov) suddenly, for no apparent reason, while having fun, came up with a musical script:

“So, with the script in our briefcase, we went to our favorite film studio, Soyuzmultfilm. A large artistic council gathered there: strict editors, experienced directors, seasoned writers and talented artists and composers. We discussed, listened to the songs and decided - there will be “Bremen Town Musicians”!
And we started making the film."

This is where V. Livanov’s memories of the film end. In the book's annotation, Livanov is directly named as the film's director. At the same time that the film’s creative team was vying with each other for invitations to meetings with the audience, there was a different attitude at the studio and among film experts. The then director of the studio, M. Valkov, announced in a soft, apologetic tone that the director Kovalevskaya was not to the liking of the team and she had better submit an application.

Inessa Kovalevskaya says:
“This was probably a greeting from my past, when I worked as an editor at Goskino and supervised
film studio "Soyuzmultfilm". However, I firmly know that I never allowed myself to be offended or
offend someone because I love animation and respect people working in this field."

Over time, the studio “storm in a teacup” subsided. Livanov, Entin and Gladkov suggested that Kovalevskaya make a sequel. But the script did not inspire enthusiasm. This is how to continue your favorite fairy tale about Cinderella! The good plot development itself did not have a bright ending. Again the escape from the palace, which the viewer has already seen, as well as the robbers. We need to look for a new move!

Kovalevskaya suggested a replacement in the form of a sharp-parody detective and to work on the script while she was busy with other work. A little later, Inessa Alekseevna was surprised to learn that the film was in production...
What to do? This is cinema with its own “specifics”. You just need to step over everything and work on, - so Inessa Alekseevna reasoned. Later, developing the musical genre in animation, Kovalevskaya made two films: “At the Port” - based on modern material (composer M Minkov) and “The Tale of the Priest and his Worker Balda” based on the fairy tale by A.S. Pushkin (composer A Bykanov).

After many years, it becomes clear that the film musical “The Bremen Town Musicians” was not only a new original phenomenon in Soviet animation, but aroused interest among other directors in a new promising genre. These are “The Blue Puppy” and “Dog in Boots” by E. Hamburg. Even more interesting in this regard are the works of G. Bardin “The Flying Ship”. The songs and episodes precisely and inventively developed by the director, especially “Vodyanoy” and “Grandmothers - Yozhki,” brought the film well-deserved fame.

Hello, friends! Do you think the Bremen Town Musicians come from Bremen? But no. Now I will explain everything.

* In general, this article should have been written a long time ago; nevertheless, it talks about one of the symbols of the famous German city, and, as always, I’m still trying to figure it out =) There are a lot of photos at the end.

Do you remember the fairy tale? I had forgotten it, so today, before I sat down to write the article, I re-read it. No, I won’t retell it all in detail, I’ll just remind you of the essence. And this must be done in order to understand who the Bremen Town Musicians (German: Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten) are, in general, why they were scared of Bremen, and why they are depicted everywhere exactly like this: as a pyramid (a donkey, a dog on it, a cat on it, and a rooster on top ).

Summary

The main characters of this fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm are wandering musicians (who weren’t even musicians, in principle). All of them had to leave their home due to conflicts with their owners. The donkey became too old and could no longer help at the mill, so the owner decided to get rid of him (so as not to feed him in vain). The same fate threatened the dog - they were going to shoot him. The owner planned to drown the old cat, but they wanted to roast the rooster (or bake... maybe boil it) for the holiday.

It is clear that the animals and the rooster fundamentally disagreed with this fate and ran away from the house. They met on the road. The idea of ​​going to Bremen and becoming street musicians there was given to everyone by the donkey, the rest only supported it. This was the beginning of the legendary quartet.

Since the route to Bremen was not close, our friends did not reach there in one day. We needed a place to spend the night. And in the forest they came across a hut of robbers. An ideal place to spend the night. But there was one “but” - in fact, the owners were in the hut.

Our savvy musicians figured out this problem once or twice - they simply scared the robbers with their, um... “music”. The show was great! A dog climbed onto the back of a donkey, a cat climbed on top of the dog, and a rooster crowned the whole pyramid. And then they, the whole quartet, burst out loud: the donkey brayed, the dog barked, the cat screamed like a cat, and the rooster crowed.

The poor robbers did not even understand what had happened. In the twilight they couldn’t really see anything, and judging by the sounds, some kind of demon was actually going to attack them. In short, they ran ahead of their own scream from this hut.

Well, our “musicians” occupied the reclaimed home. And, moreover, they loved it there so much that they did not want to leave this place. And they never went to Bremen, but stayed to live in the forest, in a robber’s hut.

But, despite the fact that these guys were not in the city, they still became one of its symbols.

Monument to the Bremen Town Musicians in Bremen

Most famous monument The Bremen Town Musicians stands in Bremen (amazing, right? =)) on the Market Square, near the eastern wall of the town hall. And there are a lot of tourists there. In general, probably everyone who has visited Bremen considers it their duty to bring back a photo from there with this sculpture in the background. That's why people line up to take pictures there.

The bronze monument was erected in 1951. Its author is the Berlin sculptor Gerhard Marx. Based on this sculpture, two more were created. One was staged in Riga in 1990, the second in Zulpich (Germany). And they are completely different. The only thing they have in common is that they represent a composition in which the fairy tale characters are arranged canonically (on top of each other).

Legends and myths

Any popular sculpture is surrounded by some legends of its own. So it is here. It is believed that the Town Musicians of Bremen can grant wishes. To do this, you just need to rub the donkey’s nose or grab its front paws and rub it lightly (the photo shows how tourists carefully polished these places =)).

* Just remember - you need to hold on to both legs, not just one! Otherwise, the wish will not come true. And also, they might say about you: “look, one donkey is greeting another.” This is local humor, don’t be offended by it =)

Also, the sewer manholes on the city’s Market Square “sing” with the voices of the Bremen Town Musicians. Only to do this you need to throw a coin there. And if earlier there were few coins in the sewer, now there are more than enough people who want to hear the “singing” of the quartet, so city services have to “withdraw the proceeds” several times a day.

Bremen Town Musicians as a symbol of Bremen

Friends, the heroes of this famous German quartet can be found everywhere in Bremen. Well, really, everywhere! On magnets, postcards, books, badges, billboards, in shop windows, on clothes, on residential buildings and even on dishes. In short, you can find this symbol in the most unexpected places. In our house, for example, books with the Bremen Town Musicians are reproduced =)

They are depicted in different ways: somewhere more canonical, somewhere less, somewhere ironic, and somewhere completely... abstract (but, nevertheless, recognizable). I have put together a rather large gallery for you where everything is shown. I’ll display it at the end of the article so that it doesn’t get in the way.

And also, I noticed a slight relationship between the Bremen musicians and the Tula mother-in-law. Both one and the other can sometimes be seen in an unexpected way, for example, in a New Year's cap or raincoat. Cute, and that's it =)

Well, on this positive note, I will say goodbye to you. All the best! Read fairy tales, travel more and smile! See you.

If you don’t understand why the fairy tale is called “The Town Musicians of Bremen,” then read our article and find useful information.

Why is the fairy tale called "The Town Musicians of Bremen"

Why is the fairy tale called “The Town Musicians of Bremen”? The main characters were heading to the city of Bremen, which was the city of dreams that everyone was so eager to get to.

This is a tale about four musicians who embodied general image German people. "Bremen Town Musicians" - music that never made it to the much-desired city and did not become famous city performers.

Bremen - Cultural Center region in which all dreams of better life, so the animal musicians sought to get to the city. The image of animals is symbolic, which depicts the dream and desire of the people for a better bright life.

There is a legend that the basis of the fairy tale was European musicians, who were called “klezmer”. Kreizmers are European folk street musicians; performed at weddings, celebrations, and fairs. The leading instruments were violin, cymbals, double bass, trumpet, clarinet, drum, etc.

The main characters of the fairy tale “The Town Musicians of Bremen”: a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster, there were four of them, and the classical Klezmer Chapel consisted of 4 musicians playing the violin, clarinet, fifiole and drum with cymbals.