2017 - 101cityscapes

30. Dezember 2017Jörg Dietrich

Bordeaux | France | Quai Richelieu | Week 33

Bordeaux [spanish: Burdeos; arabic: Būrdū], founded by Celts in the 3rd century BC, lies close to the Atlantic coast in southwest France, 450 km north of Barcelona, 450 km west of Lyon and 500 km south of Paris. It is the largest city in southwestern France and the 9th largest city in France.

Population: 250.000 [2015] | 210.000 [1990] | 263.000 [1931] | 257.000 [1901]

The Romans called the city Burdigala and made it the capital of their province Aquitania. Later it was also the capital of Guyenne during the time of english rule. The city has always profited from its strategic position along the cost and several trade routes, which guaranteed wealth via trade, especially of its wine, still renowned worldwide today. Today it is the capital of the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine, seat of an arch bishop and the historic centre is a UNESCO world heritage site. It has also been the capital of France for three short periods during german invasions in the last 150 years.

The complete old town of Bordeaux has been awarded an ensemble UNESCO world heritage site status. It is nicknamed the Port de la Lune (Port of the Moon) and is known for its consistent architectural character, created in the age of Enlightenment. Above we see the front along the river Garonne and the Quai Richelieu. In the centre we see the Porte Cailhau, one of the main sights of Bordeaux and the former main gate towards the harbour (errected in 1495).

Photography by Victor Lavilla.

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For classic view and more infos about the place (german link):

We have documented a large number of views from french cities, find more examples inside our France archive.

28. Juni 2017Jörg Dietrich

Vienna | Austria | Graben | Week 32

Vienna [german: Wien; hungarian: Bécs; latin: Vindobona], first known settlement as Vedunia by the Celts, but earlier settlements existed. Vienna lies ca. in the middle between Prague (250 km to the nortwest) and Budapest (220 km to the southeast) only about 50 km west of the slovak capital Bratislava. It is the largest city of Austria and the 12th largest city in Europe.

Population: 1.840.000 [2016] | 1.540.000 [1991] | 1.936.000 [1934] | 1.769.000 [1900]

The historic centre of Vienna is one large UNESCO world heritage site. It developed mostly between the end of the osman siege of Vienna in 1683 and WWI and is shaped by the architectural ensembles in baroque, neo-classical and Art Nouveau style of the Habsburg Empire. Following its celtic roots Vienna was a roman castrum and city called Vindobona for four centuries. It first rose to prominence when the Babenberger family moved its residence to the then minor city in the 12th century. Its real height of power however came with the Habsburg family in the 15th century. They made it the capital of the Habsburg Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, withstood two osman sieges and created the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the congress of Vienna in 1815. The city became a world centre for music, arts and science in the 19th century (Mozart, Beethoven, Klimt, Freud etc.). Today Vienna is regarded a global city and home to several international organisations like the OPEC, the IAEO, the OSZE and of course, one of the home cities of the UNO. In Europe Vienna plays the role of a bridging city between Eastern and Western Europe.

Our cityscape above presents the Graben, an area once part of the wall of the roman castell, that later became a prestigious central shopping street with grand historicism and Art Nouveau architecture. Here we see, for example, the Anker-Haus by Otto Wagner on the left, the Grabenhof in the centre and the Husaren-Haus by Josef Hackhofer on the right edge.

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For classic view and more infos about the place (german link):

Find a step-by-step sequence video of the composition of this streetline below:

Also finalized and published are these views of the Schwarzenberg-Square and the Wienzeile. Find more streetlines in our Vienna overview (german link).

A preview of a ministry building in the Hintere Zollamtsstrasse.

A preview of the Hofburg Theatre at the Ringstrasse of Vienna.

17. März 2017Jörg Dietrich

Lyon | France | Rue de la Republique | Week 31

Lyon [italian: Lione; old german: Leyden], founded by the Romans as Lugdunum in 43 BC, but earlier celtic settlements existed. The city lies about 300 km north of Marseille, 350 km west of Milan and about 400 km southeast of Paris. It is the 3rd largest city in France and no. 60 within the european union.

Population: 507.000 [2014] | 415.000 [1990] | 580.000 [1931] | 460.000 [1901]

Lyon is especially known for its history, its unique cityscape, its economical role in France and it is a UNESCO world heritage site. Following its roman foundation it was the Gaul capital for several centuries, before it became the centre of the Burgundian Kingdom. In 1032 it became part of the Holy Roman Empire and it wasn’t before the 14th century, that Lyon finally belonged to France. For centuries the city was the banking centre of France and the archbishop of Lyon is regarded the highest religious authority in France. Another keystone of the cities importance had been the silk trade, which resulted in the cities numerous silk workshops and a fast growth during industrialisation. Also the Lumière brother invented the cinematographe in Lyon. Today the city is a centre of commerce, of education, the major transportation hub in southern France, the seat of Interpol and the „Capital of Lights“, thanks to its annual light festival Fête des Lumières.

Here we see a part of the Rue de la Republique, the major shopping street in the centre of Lyon, running from the Place Bellecour (right edge) to the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) further north. This section in the panorama ends at the Place de la Republique (left). The street was originally created in the 1850s with most buildings reflecting the Haussmann style of the era. Notable are the Art Deco style Cinema Pathé (with a golden rooster on top) and the former Le Progrés newspaper headquarters near the right end of the panorama.

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For classic view and more infos about the place:

Find more streetline previews in our Lyon Architecture overview (german link).

Also finalized and published is this view of the Place Neuve Saint-Jean

A preview of the church Saint Nizier with the adjoining Rue de Brest on its right

Quai Fulchiron across the Saône in the Vieux Lyon quarter, with the Fourviere hill in the background

11. Februar 2017Jörg Dietrich

Görlitz | Germany | Augustastrasse | Week 30

Görlitz [polish: Zgorzelec], first mention as Goreliz in 1071. It is the easternmost city in germany, lying about 80 km east of Dresden, 120 km west of Wroclaw (Breslau) and 120 km north of Prague. Görlitz is the 6th largest city in the german state Saxony and the largest within the region Upper Lusatia (Oberlausitz).

Population: 55.000 [2015] | 72.000 [1990] | 94.000 (1930) | 81.000 [1900]

Görlitz is especially known for its well preserved old town, it is member of the working group historic cities in germany. From its early times the city belonged to the bohemian kingdom, later it became part of Saxony, then Silesia (in Prussia) and finally Germany (incl. GDR). It was a strong trade city in late medieval times, esp. due to its monopoly for woad trade in Bohemia. Görlitz was a member of the Lusatian League and as such held rights similar to free imperial cities for some time. In 1945 the new border between Germany and Poland cut through the city along the Neisse river. It’s eastern part is now an independent city – Zgorcelec in Poland. Economically the city has a long history in the production of trams and trains. Nowadays the city is also a favourite spot for big movie productions, earning it its nickname Görliwood.

The street front above is a section of Augustastrasse, a street full of examples of historicism style, which is common in the areas around the old town centre. Görlitz is also known as a so called Pensionopolis, an attractive city with relatively low rents that attracts the elder and retired people. While the city experienced an economic decline since 1990 it still managed to restore the majority of its historic buildings – in large parts thanks to the anonymous Altstadtmillion (old town million). Between 1995 and 2016 each year the city received an anonymous amount of one million Deutsche Mark (later that amount in Euro) to be spent for reconstructing the old town. The results can be seen all over Görlitz.

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For classic view and more infos about the place (german here):

We documented more streets and places in Görlitz. Find some previews below. For more views from saxon cities follow the link to our Saxony archive.

A panorama of the central block on the lower market square (Untermarkt).

The Brüderstrasse between Obermarkt and Untermarkt with the Silesian Museum (left).

A section of the Obermarkt (Upper Market) from 2011.

The main station.

30. Januar 2017Jörg Dietrich

Chania | Greece | Venetian Harbour | Week 29

Chania [greek: Χανιά; turkish: Hanya], was already inhabited by the Minoans and the Greek called it Kydonia, it lies about 100 km west of the capital of Crete Heraklion and about 300 km south of Athens across the Aegean sea. It is the 9th largest city in Greece and the 2nd largest on Crete.

Population: 108.000 [2011] | 54.000 [1991] | 26.000 [1928] | 20.000 [1900]

Chania is the major city in western Crete, including a large ferry port and an international airport. The Kydonians were mentioned twice in Homer’s Odyssey. During its history the city belonged to the (often together with all of Crete) Minoans, Ancient Greek, Byzantines, Saracens, Venetians, Genoese, Osmans and modern Greek. It was mainly the Venetians and later the Osmans that developed the city, created its harbour and made it an important centre for commerce and administration. For more than 300 years (1651-1971) the city became the capital of Crete.

Our panorama depicts the eastern side of Chania’s old venetian harbour, which was created in the 13th century. In the background we can still see the old byzantine walls that surrounded ancient Kydonia and which is now the city quarter Kasteli. The main feature here is the former Küçük Hasan Pasha Mosque, built by the Osmans after conquering the city in 1645. Its minaret was torn down in 1920 and today it houses a public gallery. The old town of Chania is still defined by its old venetian and osman architecture and the centre of the city is a protected historical monument – the reason for it being the most popular cretan harbour with tourists.

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For classic view and more infos about the place:

We documented more streets and places in Chania. Below you can see a preview of a backside view of the old venetian shipyards (Megalo Arsenali) from Kallergon street.

And here is also a preview of the south and west front of the venetian harbour of Chania.

For more streetlines of Greece visit our archive.