No, I’m not writing this little whale observation because tomorrow, February 23, 2025, is the Bundestag election. The important election should not have to serve as a phonological joke that only works in German. But when I saw the huge whale painting in Bremen’s town hall, I thought of the sperm whale that beached itself on the coast of Sylt a few days ago. It is still a media event when a large marine mammal gets lost and cannot find its way back to the open sea on its own. The painting in Bremen’s town hall shows just such an event – over 350 years ago. Even back then, spectacular incidents were used for political purposes.
Whale poster or battle painting?
The painting of the whale in the Great Hall of Bremen Town Hall, known as the Great Whale Painting, tells a story from the year 1669, when a minke whale strayed into the Lesum, a tributary of the Weser, and beached itself there. This event was a sensation. The town council immediately commissioned the painter Franz Wulfhagen to paint the whale in its original size. The painting, measuring 3.55 by 9.55 meters, shows the whale at full length.
The work was more than just a work of art: it served as a political statement for the Council of the Imperial Free Imperial and Hanseatic City of Bremen. It was intended to underline Bremen’s maritime ties and its claim to independence from powerful neighbors. The prepared skeleton of the whale also hung in the hall until 1815, when it was replaced by today’s ship models. After centuries in the town hall, the painting was removed in 1965 and stored in the depot. It only returned to its original place on the north wall in the Upper Town Hall after restoration in 2008.
As always, it’s about power
Today, models of warships hang in the town hall. In the Middle Ages and early modern times, such ships protected the merchant fleets of the Hanseatic cities from pirates and enemies. The models are a reminder of this protective function and at the same time symbolize the prosperity and power that Bremen gained through trade. Some of the models date from the 16th to 18th centuries. Their cannons are even functional and used to be fired on special occasions.
What today looks like dusty decoration and overloaded kitsch sent a clear message back then, often to the territorial neighbors: “Better not mess with us.” As recent global political events have shown, little has changed to this day.
In Bremen you can eat excellent seafood. Bremen is also known as the coffee city and has the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum, the world’s first museum dedicated to a female painter. In Whale watching, we explain why a life-size painting of a whale hangs in the Old Town Hall. Bremen also has a culture of remembrance: since 2023, the Arisierungs-Mahnmal on the Weser Promenade has commemorated the systematic dispossession of the Jewish population during the Nazi era and a guided tour of the city with special eye-catchers in mind.
The research was supported by Bremen Tourismus
