Bremer Loch

The Bremer Loch ("Bremen Hole") is an unusual underground donation box set into the paving of Bremen's Market Square at the cathedral-side corner of the Bürgerschaft building, where it has been since 2007. This acoustic work of art plays on the city's "secret landmark," the Bremen Town Musicians. The round bronze lid, 45 centimeters (about 18 inches) in diameter, resembles a manhole cover and bears the inscription of the Wilhelm-Kaisen-Bürgerhilfe around its edge. In the center are a coin slot and an inscription in Low German urging visitors not to crow, howl, or growl, but to put something into the hole. Each time a coin is dropped in, a photocell triggers a sound reproducing the calls of the four legendary animals: rooster, cat, dog, and donkey. The recordings were made by Radio Bremen in the summer of 2007.

The initiative goes back to the Bremen Wilhelm-Kaisen-Bürgerhilfe, an umbrella organization of welfare associations chaired by the sitting president of the Bürgerschaft. The "acoustic social piggy bank" was designed by the design studio Haase & Knels. The donations collected, which can amount to as much as €15,000 a year, go to selected social projects run by the organization. The Bremer Loch was officially inaugurated on July 27, 2007, in the presence of Christian Weber, then president of the Bürgerschaft. It is therefore not only a quirky attraction for tourists and locals walking across the paving of the historic Market Square, but also an effective tool for public charity in the Hanseatic city.