BREMEN, a large, populous, and very strong town of Germany, capital of a duchy of the same name, with an archbishop's see, secularized in favour of the Swedes, but now belongs to the king of Hanover. The river Weser runs through the middle, and divides it into the old and new town. In September 1739, while the inhabitants were asleep, the magazine of powder was set on fire by lightning, and all the houses were shaken, as if there had been a violent earthquake, which threw them into a terrible consternation. The town is divided into four quarters, each of which has a burghomaster; and in the middle there is a large market-place, with the statue of Rolando. Bremen drives a very large trade for iron, flax, hemp, and linen, with France, England, Spain, and Portugal; and in return takes back other provisions, with which it supplies Westphalia and the countries about Hanover. It also gets a great deal by its fisheries. It contains 5350 houses, and about 40,000 inhabitants. E. Long. 8. 45. N. Lat. 53. 40.