Photographs I've gleaned from flea markets, junk shops and sometimes ebay. The cheaper the better. Anything with a story that can be extracted from hand written notes, location research, local histories, census records......anything. A small band of fellow enthusiasts worldwide have helped me with many of these. Of course there are always mysteries that defy research, but there's even a story inside these. All images can be viewed at super-size on Flickr.

Monday, 30 May 2011

Luisenplatz. Potsdam, Germany. 1880s-1900s?

Luisenplatz. Potsdam, Germany. 1880s-1900s?

A photo with lots of delightful details which emerge on magnification (see enlarged sections below). Pedestrians and horses walking up Zeppelinstraße reduced to ghostly blurs by the long exposure, people sunning themselves in the square, a man and a woman looking eagerly into a basket (containing a baby?) and, in front of the tram, the shadow of the horse pulling it. That shadow means we can date this to before 1907, when the Potsdam tram network was electrified. (Thanks to my friend in Berlin for that detail).

Today the square is still dominated by the Brandenburger Tor, which you can just see the edge of on the left. However, the park and ornate fountain have gone, replaced with paving and a larger, plainer fountain.



Potsdam street

detail 1

detail 2

Potsdam horse


Potsdam, Germany

Many thanks to Flickr user Paul Zucchini for matching up the buildings with this Bing maps image.

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