The Archive
The Böttcherstrasse Archive documents the history of the street from the beginning to the present day, in all its stages. Thus, the archive is comprehensive. It holds documents on the construction of all the houses, including three thousand construction plans and some two thousand historic photographs, as well as papers of the companies and the publishers (Friesen-Verlag and Angelsachsen-Verlag) that operated on Böttcherstrasse up to 1944.
The archive also documents the cultural activities in the Böttcherstrasse in the post-war period, such as art awards and theatre events (“Kunstpreis der Böttcherstraße", “Neues Forum", and “Kammerspiele Böttcherstraße”), and the beginnings of the “Bremer Shakespeare Company.”
In addition, there is a newspaper archive of press comments on the Böttcherstrasse from 1927 to the present, and a small library. The library holds some one thousand volumes on the Böttcherstrasse, Paula Modersohn-Becker, and Bernhard Hoetger.
The Böttcherstrasse Archive has been academically sponsored since 1994. Registration and digitalisation of the inventory are ongoing.
On request, the Böttcherstrasse Archive organizes guided tours, lectures, and exhibits. A fundamental task of the archive is to process and publicize source material on the history of the Böttcherstrasse. It also participates in the public relations work of Böttcherstraße GmbH.
