City of Literature

The UNESCO is an international organisation.

That means:

The UNESCO exists all over the world.

The UNESCO promotes, for example:

– education

– science and 

– culture

The UNESCO also awards various titles.

For example, the title City of Literature.

With the title City of Literature,

the UNESCO honours cities

– that publish many texts.

– that have many bookstores and libraries

– that organise many actions for reading. 

In 2023, Bremen applied for the title.

On October 31^st, 2023, 

Bremen was declared as City of Literature.

How did the application look like?

Bremen spoke with different cities 

that have already been awarded the

title City of Literature.

For example:

– Heidelberg 

   Heidelberg is a city in Germany.

– Leeuwarden

   Leeuwarden is a city in the Netherlands.

– Milan

   Milan is a city in Italy.

In Bremen, many literary projects already existed 

when the application was submitted.

For example:

– the Bremer Sprachmusikanten

– the LauschOrte - Sound & Stories

– the literary magazine of Bremen

Why did Bremen win the title City of Literature?

In Bremen we believe:

As many people as possible should read.

Reading is important.

By reading, we learn something about others.

And we also learn something about ourselves.

By reading, we can also inform ourselves.

That is why Bremen promotes reading.

Another important reason why Bremen 

won the title City of Literature:

There is a famous fairy tale in Bremen.

It is called the Town Musicians of Bremen.

The fairy tale is known and loved all over the world.

The Town Musicians of Bremen 

stand for tolerance and open-mindedness.

More reasons why Bremen won the title:

– Bremen has its own literature prize.

   The prize is an important one in Germany.

– There are various literature festivals in Bremen.

   For example, the literature festival Poetry on the Road.

– There are many cultural institutions in Bremen.

   For example, there are many libraries.

– And there are also many bookstores and publishers.

– There is also a book museum in Bremen.

   It is called Centre for Artists' Publications.

– There are many theatres and theatre companies in Bremen.

   One theatre company is called shakespeare company bremen.

– And in Bremen we do a lot of research on texts. 

   And we also do research on books.

These are the plans for the next few years:

In the next few years,

Bremen will build new facilities.

These facilities are for people

– who read texts. 

   For example, children and young people.

– who write texts.

   For example, authors from Bremen.