Punkendeich
The Punkendeich was a dike (floodbank) between the the river Weser and the city of Bremen that was known for prostitution. It ran from the city wall (Altenwall} to Sielwall (today's Deichstraße to Siel am Dobben).[1] Originally called the Sieldeich, the Punkendeich was incorporated into the larger Osterdeich in 1850. A road and houses were built along the top of the dike,[2] the road later becoming part of the Osterdeich trunk road.
Etymology
Punke is an obsolete German word for prostitute that was used in Bremen and the surrounding areas.[3]
The name probably dates from the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), when the soldiers' prostitutes - the so-called Punken - were not tolerated within Bremen itself and set up on the dike outside the city wall.[3]
Ferry
The Bremen passenger shipping company Hal över , which operates the Sielwall ferry across the Weser river at the level of the former punk dyke, christened one of its passenger ships the name Punke in 1990 and thus recalls this old Bremen term.
Bremer Eiswette
Every year on 6 January, the Bremer Eiswette (Bremen Ice Bet), a local folk festival whose history dates back to 1829, takes place on the former Punkendeich. The custom originated in the winter of 1828, a few Bremen merchants had a bet as to whether the Weser would be ice-free on Epiphany.
References
- ^ "Osterdeich". www.dvr-bremen.de. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ "Einwohnerverzeichnis Weser-Ems-Gebiet mit Bremen vor 1945" [Population register Weser-Ems area with Bremen before 1945]. treemagic.org. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ a b Schwarzwälder, Herbert (2002). Das grosse Bremen-Lexikon [The Great Bremen Lexicon] (in German). Edition Temmen. ISBN 978-3-86108-986-5.