Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Germany Bremen Bremer Ratskeller
Gastro Obscura

Bremer Ratskeller

One of the oldest wine cellars in Germany is now a restaurant beneath Bremen's town hall.

Bremen, Germany

Added By
Luke Fater
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  junko_tabuchi/used with permission
  mario_carlo_stara/used with permission
  travellntruman/used with permission
  junko_tabuchi/used with permission
  junko_tabuchi/used with permission
  junko_tabuchi/used with permission
  travellntruman/used with permission
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

It's good to make the rules. This was especially true if you were a local politician in 15th-century Bremen, Germany. The city forbade the private sale of alcohol, consolidating the city's wine supply into giant casks stored in a cellar beneath town hall. Bremen relaxed its liquor laws over the subsequent six centuries, but you can still visit the cellar, home to Germany's oldest cask wine. In fact, it's now a restaurant. 

If there's a place to wine and dine like it's 1405 (when the place was built), this is it. Priolken, or private booths, line the walls on one side of the grand hall under dramatic vaulted ceilings. Ornately designed casks the size of elephants line the opposite wall, allowing the wines to mature undisturbed in the controlled cellar environment, imparting the still air with notes of fruity oak. Simple North German fare, from goulash soup to young herring to a variety of meat and cheese boards, is on offer, but the true draw is, of course, the drink list. With 1,200 German vinos available daily, there's a wet for every whistle (just don't expect your server to know each and every one). Celebrity visitors throughout the years include Johannes Brahms, Otto von Bismarck, Richard Wagner, and Kaisers Wilhelm I and II. 

It's also in this tranquil, underground wine hideout that Germany's oldest cask wine rests: a Rüdesheim wine from 1653. To sample it, however, you'll have to either become the cellar master or royalty. The last person to have tried the vintage was Queen Elizabeth II in 1978.

Related Tags

Germany Wine History Law Restaurants Underground Subterranean Sites Subterranean

Community Contributors

Added By

lukefater

Published

January 6, 2020

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://theculturetrip.com/europe/germany/articles/eating-out-in-bremen-top-10-restaurants-you-should-try/
  • https://www.frommers.com/destinations/bremen/restaurants/ratskeller
  • https://www.bremen.eu/tourism/attractions/bremen-ratskeller
Bremer Ratskeller
Bremer Ratskeller
Am Markt
Bremen, 28195
Germany
53.07609, 8.807382
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Der Lichtbringer (The Bearer of Light)

Bremen, Germany

miles away

Spuckstein Gesche Gottfried

Bremen, Germany

miles away

Bleikeller

Bremen, Germany

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bremen

Bremen

Germany

Places 8

Nearby Places

Der Lichtbringer (The Bearer of Light)

Bremen, Germany

miles away

Spuckstein Gesche Gottfried

Bremen, Germany

miles away

Bleikeller

Bremen, Germany

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bremen

Bremen

Germany

Places 8

Related Stories and Lists

The Culinary Delights Hiding Below, Inside, and Above Government Buildings

List

By Anne Ewbank

Related Places

  • Cricova, Moldova

    Wine Cellars of Cricova

    Seventy-five miles of limestone caves host more than a million bottles of wine beneath a sleepy Moldovan town.

  • Peach Springs, Arizona

    Caverns Grotto

    In a 345-million-year-old cave that's 200 feet underground, dinner awaits.

  • Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Café Papeneiland

    Famed for its pie, this eatery has a hidden tunnel that allowed Catholics to secretly walk to church during the Reformation.

  • The historic plaque and one of the windows.

    Clifton, Arizona

    Clifton Cliff Jail

    This Old West prison built into the side of a cliff was said to be inescapable.

  •  Bodega Peñacoba

    Aranda de Duero, Spain

    Bodegas of Aranda de Duero

    A network of hundreds of interconnected wineries in caves hides under the town center.

  • Part of an medieval aqueduct

    Nice, France

    La Crypte Archéologique de Nice

    The construction of a tram line unveiled hidden remnants of the old medieval city.

  • Washington, D.C.

    Lincoln Memorial Undercroft

    A cavernous three-story, 43,800-square-foot basement that was forgotten about for 60 years.

  • The beautifully tiled Art Deco tunnel hidden underneath 34th street.

    New York, New York

    The Hidden Art Deco Tunnel Underneath the New Yorker Hotel

    The beautiful tunnel that ran from the lobby to Penn Station is still hidden underneath 34th Street.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.