101cityscapes

29. Dezember 2020Jörg Dietrich

Schneeberg | Germany | Fürstenplatz | Week 35

Schneeberg, founded in 1471 when silver was found below the mountain. It lies 200 km south of Berlin, 300 km east of Frankfurt and 150 km northwest of Prague. It is the 51st largest city in the state of Saxony, Germany.

Population: 13.900 [2019] | 22.300 [1984] | 13.600 [1946] | 6.900 [1834]

Schneeberg is a so called Bergstadt (mountain city). The city name can be translated to ‚Snow Mountain‘. When large silver deposits were found around the Schneeberg mountain in the late 15th century this prompted a mining boom (Berggeschrey) and a settlement quickly emerged. It took the new city only 10 years to gain the status of a free mountain city and in 1483 the Saxon Elector founded the Schneeberger Münze (mint facility). A legend tells the story of the Saxon Elector Albrecht dining on a table made entirely of silver in a local mine. The city quickly became rich and one of the largest late gothic churches was built in the 16th century – the St Wolfgang Church. Later the mining shifted towards other deposits like cobalt, wismuth and uranium until it was finally abandoned in 1957. In 2019 the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge) became a UNESCO world heritage site, which inlcudes several places belonging to the city of Schneeberg.

In 1719 a city fire destroyed Schneeberg, but the wealthy city was quickly rebuilt – in baroque style which gives it some distinction in the Erzgebirge area. The panorama above presents a street front which exemplifies why Schneeberg is now called the Barockstadt im Erzgebirge (Baroque City of the ore mountains). The panorama depicts a side of the Fürstenplatz square which includes the Schmeil-Haus (left), the Fürstenhaus (Sparkasse) and the cultural centre „Goldne Sonne“ (right).

Schneeberg is celebrating its 550 years jubilee in 2021.

Click for larger view:

For classic view (german link):

Seminarstrasse Preview:

Find more Streetlines from the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) Area in our Archive.

23. Dezember 2018Jörg Dietrich

Münster | Germany | Prinzipalmarkt | Week 34

Münster, founded in 793 when the missionary Liudger founded a monastery here, lies 200 km east of Amsterdam and 400 km west of Berlin. It is the 10th largest city in the state of Northrhine-Westfalia, but also the 20th largest city of Germany.

Population: 313.000 [2017] | 259.000 [1990] | 120.000 [1930] | 64.000 [1900]

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For classic view:

Also in our archive, the opposite side of Prinzipalmarkt (german link):

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.

Click for larger view:

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.

Click for larger view:

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.

12. Dezember 2016Jörg Dietrich

Frankfurt | Germany | Mainufer | Week 28

Frankfurt am Main [italian: Francoforte sul Meno], first mention as Franconofurd in 794, but probably inhabited since the Romans. Frankfurt is situated ca. in the middle of the line Brussels – Prague and about 400 km south of Hamburg. It is the largest city (but not the capital) of the german state Hesse, the 5th largest in Germany and the 48th largest in Europe.

Population: 733.000 [2015] | 645.000 [1990] | 541.000 [1930] | 289.000 [1900]

Frankfurt had been one of the most important cities in the Holy Roman Empire ever since the division of Charlemagne’s Frankish Empire in 843. From 1147 to 1792 most german kings and emperors were crowned in Frankfurt. The city became a free imperial city in 1220 and kept this status till Napoleon. After a brief period of dependance it was a free city again until it was annexed by Prussia in 1866. Frankfurt gained a status as an important trade fair city as early as the 13th century and it established an early currency exchange system in the late 16th century. Today it is the leading financial centre of continental europe, a leading trade fair city and a significant cultural and commercial centre, including central europe’s busiest airport.

This linear panorama view depicts the northern shore of the river Main from the Bankenviertel (banking district) on the left along the central old town of Frankfurt up to the Alte Brücke (old bridge) on the right. Prominent features are the banks skyscrapers on the left, which form the basis for all classic skyline images of Frankfurt, in the centre of the panorama we see the towers around the central square Römerberg and further to the right we see the large Frankfurt Cathedral (german: Kaiserdom St. Bartholomäus). One main feature is missing from this view however, in the middle the river is crossed by the Eiserne Steg bridge, a pedestrian connection to the south bank. See our archive version for more infos, backgrounds and an explanation of the bridge’s dissapearing.

Click for larger view:

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

We documented more streets and places, which can be seen in our Frankfurt overview.

Some of these examples:

Kaiserstrasse

Römerberg | City Hall | Nikolaikirche (unfinnished)

Gallusanlage (unfinnished)

12. September 2016Jörg Dietrich

Basle | Switzerland | Marktplatz | Week 27

Basle [german: Basel; french: Bâle], founded ca. 50 AD by Celts and later named Basilia by the Romans. Lies in the Swiss-German-French tripoint on the shores of the Rhine about 75 km west of Zurich, 300 km west of Munich and 400 km east of Paris. 3rd largest city in Switzerland.

Population: 175.000 [2015] | 178.000 [1990] | 148.000 [1930] | 109.000 [1900]

Basle became a Prince-Bishopric, being ruled by a Bishop, by 999 and in 1501 it joined the Swiss Confederation. The city owns the oldest university (1460) in Switzerland, where Erasmus of Rotterdam and Paracelsus lectured. It was also an early publishing centre of europe. Today Basle is a centre of the chemistry and pharmaceutic industry. The Treaty of Basel ended the Swabian War in 1499. In 1795 the peace of Basel ended the war between France and Prussia/Spain. Also the 1st World Zionist Congress was held in Basel in 1897 and the Basel Convention (1989) lead to a modern international managment of hazardous waste.

In the cityscape above we see the town hall side of the Marktplatz in Basle’s old town. The dominating red building is the city’s town hall, which dates back to 1504 in its oldest parts. Its current shape and facade was designed during a restoration between 1898 and 1904 when the large tower was added as well. An invisible feature of the square is the river Birsig which is covered and runs beneath it towards the Rhine.

Click for larger view:

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

We documented more streets and places in Basle. Find some unfinnished examples below.

Münsterplatz

Freie Straße

30. Juni 2016Jörg Dietrich

Genoa | Italy | Via XX Settembre | Week 26

Genoa [italian: Genova; latin, german: Genua; french: Gênes], oldest references from the 6th century BC as (a probably greek city) Stalia in Liguria but might have been inhabited much earlier. Lies on the mediterranean coast at the centre of the ligurian coastal arch, south of Milan and in the centre of a triangle with Marseille (west, 300 km), Zürich (north, 325 km) and Rome (southeast, 400km). 6th largest city in Italy, 69th largest city in europe.

Population: 587.000 [2015] | 679.000 [1991] | 591.000 [1931] | 378.000 [1901]

Genoa, also called La Superba (the proud one), is especially known for its glorious past. The Romans renamed it Genua and gave it municipal rights. The city had its golden times as the Maritime Republic of Genoa, especially from the 12th to the end of the 14th century. During that time it was one of the leading maritime powers in the Mediterranean with colonies in the Middle East, the Aegean, Sicily and Northern Africa. It controlled Liguria, Piedmont, Sardinia, Corsica and Nice and had trade outposts in many places, especially in Spain and Constantinople. It had another golden time from the 16th century to the French Revolution when the genoese banks collaborated closely with the spanish crown. A famous son of the city was Christopher Columbus, born here in 1451. During the 19th and 20th century Genoa established itself as a ship-building and industrial powerhouse of Italy. Its Palazzi dei Rolli and the Le Strade Nuove („the new streets“) gave the city an UNESCO world heritage site and in 2004 it was a european capital of culture.

Our streetline presents a section of the southside of Via XX Settembre in Genoa. This major east-west street from the city centre (at Piazza de Ferrari) towards the East and San Vincenzo developed in the late 19th century. The street is crossed by the bridge Ponte Monumentale in its middle, which we can see at the left edge. It is a major shopping and promenading street of the Genoese and lined by representative buildings from the period, especially some of the finest Art Nouveau buildings in the region.

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For classic view and more infos about the place:

We documented many more streets and places in Genoa. Find some unfinnished examples below.

Via Garibaldi | Strada Nuova

Piazza Caricamento

Palazzo San Giorgio