An Initial Overview

Bremen as host city/church:

The Bremen Landeskirche is very tiny, comprising only the town itself and the immediate area. So the "host church" is the wider region, involving the Evangelical Lutheran Churches of Oldenburg and Hannover and the Evangelical Reformed Church in North Germany. The Bremen Church is interesting as it has a strong Reformed tradition within the otherwise strongly Lutheran North Germany. It has an emphasis on the role of the laity and they have no Bishop at its head - the highest church leader is known as the "Clerk to the Church Committee" and the Synod is known as the "Kirchentag" with a judge currently serving as its lay president.

Locations:

The available space in the Messegelände will be much less than in recent years. In addition, open-air events will be on the Bürgerweide (behind the main station and in front of the Messegelände) and in the squares at the Town Hall and the Cathedral. Some will be at the main Harbour (Hafen) area, possibly including the use of a ship, and especially at the "Überseestadt" which has been redeveloped as a tourist attraction, reflecting the long history of Bremen as the key inland commercial and civic centre linked to the local port of Bremerhaven which is still a major focus for Germany's export industry. Bremerhaven will also play an active role in the Kirchentag, offering hospitality to visitors and hosting a programme of related events. Thus, events will be somewhat spread out, but all easily reachable - in particular there will be a frequent extra Kirchentag commuter bus-link between the town centre and the Überseestadt. Bremerhaven has a regular train service, so is easily reachable.

Lastly (but by no means leastly!) Bremen is famous as a town of "coffee and beer". The coffee is a reflection of its international connections, whilst the beer is unavoidable - this is the home of Beck's!

Accommodation:

The accommodation area will include Bremerhaven and Oldenburg and intermediate places along the railway connections. Nothing further than 40 minutes away (fast trains) - but plenty going on in those locations also. In Bremen itself, the Messe is close to the station, and town centre locations are also in the near vicinity. Bremerhaven is likely to have its own evening programme for those wanting to get back there at a reasonable time. There will be the usual camping facility, with the additional possibility of boat moorage at the harbour if registered by March 15th.

The Kirchentag office is anticipating 10,000 people in private homes, 50,000 as groups in schools, 3,000 in hotels (rooms already provisionally reserved - go to www.hrs.de/kirchentag, or directly to the Bremen Tourist Office), 10,000 making their own arrangements, and 27,000 day visitors - which all adds up to 100,000.

The closing date for registration will be 30th March. The booking fee for private accommodation is €17.

60 years Kirchentag:

There will be a running theme of celebration - not just looking back, but moving forward. 2009 marks 60 years since the Constitution ("Grundgesetz") was established for the new Federal Republic and is also the 20th anniversary of the "Wende" - the "Peaceful Revolution" - and the reunification of Germany.

International:

There will be the usual welcome session on Wednesday afternoon and the International Centre will be open from Tuesday to Saturday. It will be in the Congress Centre, but the exact location had not yet been decided.