While still a student, the Dutchman Kasper Molenaar saw a stunning photo album with the works of the famous German photographer Kurt Hielscher, who shot the architectural masterpieces of European countries. The young man was so impressed that he decided to find the most interesting objects from the maestro's selection and take pictures from the same angle, only after almost a hundred years. It took several years, but the collection of images is already quite impressive.
1. An idea brought to life
Back in 2002, the Dutchman Casper Molenaar found in a second-hand bookstore in Amsterdam a unique photo album published by the German photographer Kurt Hielscher, who traveled to almost all European countries, collecting his collection of photographs. The found photo album is dedicated to the sights of Yugoslavia and dated back to 1920. This was not the only edition. The author collected several collections of photographs taken in different European countries, and each book corresponded to one of them.
The young man, who was a student at one of the universities in Amsterdam, was so fascinated by these pictures that he decided to create his own project. Now Kasper is trying to repeat Hielscher's photographs, only the objects in the photographs will correspond to the beginning of the 21st century. Over time, the newly minted photographer acquired several more books by the German maestro and is now looking for the same sights to take similar photos.
Interesting fact from Novate.ru: Kurt Hielscher (1881-1948) was a German photographer and educator. The son of an ordinary forester was able to get the education of a teacher, which opened up good opportunities, but he became famous thanks to his hobby. His passion for photography and the ability to capture the right angle made it popular in many European countries. After the publication of the first photo selection, orders fell in avalanche, he had to give up lectures and engage only in creativity, because he had to travel a lot in order to collect the necessary material about a particular country.
From 1910 until the 1930s, Kurt published many interesting books with landscape and architectural photography, which were in great demand. Unfortunately, during the Second World War, his negatives were destroyed due to the bombing of Leipzig, and he no longer wanted to shoot after total devastation. This became the reason that Kurt Hielscher was gradually forgotten. His words, said in the preface to one of the photo albums, turned out to be prophetic: “I am trying to show the primitive face of the country and its people in my books. As witnesses of the sunken world, my paintings will still speak if I myself have long been quiet."
2. Real Alcazar de Sevilla in Andalusia - 1914 and 2019 (Spain)
Since Kurt Hielscher was a welcome guest in many states, he was received by the highest ranks and leaders of the countries. The Real Alcazar de Sevilla Palace complex in Spain was no exception. It is now possible to easily get into the “Courtyard of the Dolls” (Patio de las Muñecas), hidden from the eyes of ordinary people, in which the private life of the royal family took place, but then he was really honored. It turned out to be interesting not only to visit the hidden zones, but also the stories associated with them. For example, the courtyard in the picture was only named so because on one of the arches, the artists depicted two small dolls against the backdrop of magnificent ornaments.
3. La Torre del Oro in Seville - 1914 and 2019 (Spain)
La Torre del Oro (Golden Tower) Talbarrana is located on the left bank of the Guadalquivir River in Seville. The Moorish Tower, 37 meters high, was erected back in 1220 as a lighthouse, which over time was turned into an outpost that plays a major role in protecting the harbor. Although what we can see now is only a restored structure, because the tower was destroyed during the strongest earthquake that occurred in the 18th century.
It took 2 centuries to completely restore the architectural monument, which became the symbol of the city. At the moment, the Maritime Museum is open in the tower, which is visited not only for the sake of studying history, but also in order to get to the open terrace. There you can enjoy a fantastic panorama and take a lot of pictures for your home archive.
4. Ponte Dei Sospiri in Venice - 1925 and 2018 (Italy)
The Ponte Dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs) in Venice was built 1600-1630 to connect the Palazzo Ducale and the prison. This eerie connecting link was called the "Bridge of Sighs" only because the prisoners, passing it, realized that they would no longer see the sunlight. According to historians, even Casanova and Galileo Galilei, who were detained in this prison, passed through Ponte Dei Sospiri.
Remarkable: A new photo of Kasper Molenaar in 2018 was taken spontaneously while attending the carnival finals. At this time, he had not yet acquired Kurt Hielscher's book on Italy, although the angle was identical.
5. City gates in Trogir - 1926 and 2019 (Croatia)
The stone gate through which you can get to the old part of the city of Trogir remains as majestic as it was almost a century ago. The only thing that is irretrievably lost is the Venetian lion above the arch. But not only this stone beast disappeared, as it turned out, on the night of December 1, 1932, eight statues of lions were savagely destroyed by a group of young Yugoslav nationalists. Overnight, everything that was considered a symbol of Italian domination, and not an ordinary element of architecture, disappeared from the old public buildings.
The newspapers of that time wrote about this incident as follows: “The perpetrators of this crime viewed the Venetian lions not as ancient monuments, but rather as real political symbols of the“Italianism”of the Eastern Adriatic. Namely, Italian nationalists and fascist propaganda abused the presence of these monuments on the Croatian coast and the fact that Venice once ruled over Dalmatia and history."
6. Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Lake Bled - 1926 and 2018 (Slovenia)
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Cerkev Marijinega Vnebovzetja (Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary) is located on a rocky island in the middle of Lake Bled. Its 54-meter bell tower attracts the attention of not only pilgrims from afar. A wonderful example of medieval architecture, which we can observe now, was recreated only in the 17th century, because the wooden predecessor church burned down in 1509.
Interesting fact: On the rocky island where Cerkev Marijinega Vnebovzetja is now located, archaeologists have discovered prehistoric and Slavic settlements dating back to the 11th-8th centuries. BC. and IX-X centuries. AD respectively. During the excavations, in addition to tools, household items and weapons, 124 graves and several religious objects were found here, so the researchers came to the conclusion that this place was considered sacred for thousands of years.
7. Temple of Saturn in Rome - 1925 and 2016 (Italy)
Despite the fact that it is unlikely that anyone will be able to find any special differences or striking transformations in the appearance of the most ancient structure of the planet - the Temple of Saturn, located in Rome, but still the pictures are impressive in scale and mystery. And this is not surprising, because the temple was built back in 497 BC. NS. and served not only as a place of worship for deities, it contained an aerarium, where the reserves of gold and silver of the Romans were kept.
8. Crkva Gospa od Ružarije in Perast - 1926 and 2018 (Montenegro)
Halfway to the breathtaking Bay of Kotor, tourists find themselves in the ancient town of Perast, in which, although time has frozen in the guise of stone houses and narrow streets, the desire for convenience and comfort prevails. Small cafes with awnings, saving travelers from the scorching sun, now block some of the historical sights, but tourists are not offended, because cool air-conditioned rooms are much better than stuffy. Moreover, to the church Crkva Gospa od Ružarije, built in the 17th century. only a hundred meters remain. And this is a great reason to take a walk to touch the true masterpieces of architecture.
9. Puente Nuevo Bridge in Ronda - 1914-1916 and 2019 (Spain)
The Puente Nuevo bridge shown in this photograph is not so much connected with legends as with a series of bloody events that claimed many lives. Puente Nuevo is one of three crossings that cross the deep Tajo de Ronda gorge, through which the rugged Guadalevin River flows. Starting in the 18th century, from the first construction, which claimed the lives of 50 workers, unforeseen disasters often occur in these places. And the photographs of Kurt Hielscher, taken in the period 1914-1916, were a striking damage to this. On them you can clearly see the houses and the mill in which several families lived and worked, but during a powerful landslide that occurred in July 1917, they were simply wiped off the face of the earth. At that moment, 15 people died.
10. A few more amazing shots that were photographed by the keen Dutchman Kasper Molenaar
It is always very interesting to compare and analyze, although there are cases that after only 50 years it is really impossible to recognize the area. How it happened with the small emirate of Dubai, which transformed from a fishing village into an ultra-modern metropolis with transcendental benefits and skyscrapers.