Today, photography is all around us, whether in science, advertising, news media, propaganda or social media. It's impossible to envision a world without it. And yet, just 200 years ago photos did not exist. The world's first photograph was taken by Joseph Nicephore Niepce in 1826 using the first proper camera. Since then, new technology has taken the world by storm, evolving into colour pictures, movies and home videos.
Click through this gallery to see the earliest ever photos of Germany's famous landmarks...
The oldest photo of Stolzenfels Castle, located only four miles (7km) from Koblenz, shows the majestic building towering over the village of the same name. After a tumultuous history which saw the castle destroyed by the French in 1689, Prussian Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm had commissioned a rebuild by famous architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel in 1836. Only eight years before this picture was taken, the inauguration was celebrated with a big costume ball in 1842. Today, Stolzenfels is regarded as one of the most remarkable achievements of Prussian Rhine Romanticism.
With its grand crown gate and incredible Baroque architecture, the Dresden Zwinger is a major landmark in the city. It was built between 1710 and 1728 as an orangery and courtly festival site, and the detailed splendour provides an insight into the electoral tastes of Augustus the Strong. Just like when this picture was taken in the middle of the 19th century, the spacious grounds of the Zwinger with its lawns, fountains and galleries still attract visitors in the warmer months today.
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Belgian-born Johann Franz Michiels was one of the early 'light painters' in Central Europe. In 1852, he was commissioned to photograph the new stained-glass windows in Cologne Cathedral, but Michiels also took pictures of the continued construction. On 29 June 1853, he shot what has since been regarded as the incunabulum (an early printed book) of cathedral photography. In this photo, which was taken in 1855 from the tower of the former monastery church of Groß St. Martin, the south aisle is already complete, while the walls of the nave and the south portal are under construction. The late medieval slewing crane still stands on the stump of the south tower.
The oldest surviving photograph of the Brandenburg Gate is by photographic pioneer Leopold Ahrendts, who took pictures of various important buildings in Berlin. It shows the building and Pariser Platz from the east. Ahrendts’ work has been preserved in around 200 motifs from the 1850s and 1860s. They show that he experimented with the negative-positive photographic processes invented in his time and soon mastered them with great skill. The Brandenburg Gate was first opened to the public in 1791. It stood for peace, victory and mourning, became the backdrop for Nazi productions, then went on to become a memorial to the division of Germany.
The grandeur and importance of Aachen Cathedral cannot be overstated. As the final resting place of emperor Charlemagne, it has witnessed the coronation of 30 German kings and attracted pilgrims since the 12th century. Inside, prized relics like Christ’s loincloth from when he was crucified and Mary’s cloak are stored and put on display every seven years (next in 2028). This photo from 1865 shows the mighty building with construction workers in the foreground. In the middle of the 19th century, major renovation work was carried out. Architectural decorations had to be renewed and, in 1865, the arcades were reopened towards Munsterplatz.
The Frauenkirche was built between 1726 and 1743 in Baroque style, just like the nearby Zwinger. This photograph from around 1870 shows the cathedral seven decades before it was almost completely destroyed, shortly before the end of the Second World War, during the air raids on Dresden on the night of 14 February 1945. Reconstruction only began in 1994 and was completed in 2005. The monumental building in Dresden's Neumarkt is considered one of the largest sandstone structures in the world.
Nuremberg’s enormous Imperial Castle is seen from the northeast in this early photograph from about 1880. The Kaiserburg is actually a complex of fortified buildings on a sandstone ridge which rises above the Old Town. In the Middle Ages, the Roman-German emperors did not rule from one city, but were constantly on the move to meet their vassals (feudal tenants), hold court or attend imperial diets. When travelling across Europe, the royal court was accommodated in imperial palaces of which the Kaiserburg was one of the most important ones in the Middle Ages.
This photo shows Germany’s most famous castle, taken during its later construction phase, with the scaffolding on the square tower clearly visible. Neuschwanstein was built by King Ludwig II in 1869 and never completed. For the Mad King, as he was also called, it was a monument to the culture of the Middle Ages, which he revered and wanted to immortalise. Ludwig II lived here from 1884 but never managed to see his 'New Castle' without scaffolding. The southern section was only completed in a simplified form in 1891, but the keep and chapel was not built at all. Ludwig II drowned aged 40 in 1886 under mysterious circumstances.
Read more about the fascinating and tragic story of Neuschwanstein
The history of Berlin Cathedral dates back to the 15th century, when its previous buildings were originally part of the Berlin City Palace. King Friedrich II had a church building consecrated in the Lustgarten in 1750. In the beginning of the 19th century, Berlin's most important architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel transformed the existing cathedral into a simple Neoclassical building. This photo from the late 19th century shows horse-drawn carriages (in 1886, inventor Karl Friedrich Benz patented his all-rubber tricycle with an internal combustion engine at the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin) and elegant ladies with hats and long skirts.
Robber barons once wreaked havoc here. Then came the Romantics. Today, the Bastei rock formation, located almost 624 feet (190m) above the water level of the Elbe River, draws visitors from all around the world. The 251-foot-long (76.5m) bridge, built in 1851, runs through the rocky landscape and showcases the bizarre shapes that have inspired many painters and poets over the years, such as Caspar David Friedrich. The Bastei (photographed here in around 1890) can be reached on a short 30-minute hike.
Hohenzollern Castle – for 1,000 years the ancestral seat of the Prussian royal family and the Princes of Hohenzollern – towers almost 3,000 feet (900m) above the Swabian Alb. This historic photo from the late 19th century shows the hilltop castle at a great distance and trees in the foreground. Despite the low visibility, turrets and battlements can be made out as well as levelled fortifications. The castle has 140 rooms, magnificent halls and chambers. Highlights include a library with important wall paintings, the king's bedroom, a family tree room and the Blue Salon, the queen's room.
The world’s first coloured picture was taken on 17 May 1861 in King's College London by physicist James Clerk Maxwell. While black and white photos were the norm over the following decades, this image of Wartburg Castle, where Martin Luther once lived, is also in colour. It shows the southeast side of the building as well as the Wartburg Hotel on the far left. Of the castle complex itself, you can see the Neue Kemenate (new bower) on the left. Next to it is the Burgschenke tavern (half-timbered building), the keep (large tower with the cross), south tower, south wall and the palas building.
The meeting place of the Bundestag (Federal Assembly) is one of Germany’s most recognisable buildings. It was completed in 1894, only a year before this photo was taken. However, this early image shows the Reichstag without its now famous huge glass dome, part of the extensive restoration work which took place under the direction of British architect Sir Norman Foster after the German reunification in 1990. The Reichstag had been damaged by a fire in 1933, then sustained further destruction in the Second World War and deteriorated in the following decades.
At 9,718 feet (2,962m), Zugspitze is Germany’s highest mountain. This photograph by B. Johannes shows it surrounded by peaks of the Wettersteingebirge, with the small town of Partenkirchen (now merged as Garmisch-Partenkirchen) in the foreground. The first ascent of Zugspitze was on 27 August 1820 by surveying officer Joseph Naus and his team. Today, some 750 climbers reach the peak daily in summer, while 6,000 others take the Bavarian Zugspitze Railway. This photo exudes a quiet small town atmosphere before Alpine tourism took off in the 1920s.
Heidelberg Castle towers majestically over the Neckar Valley as can be seen in this picture. It used to be the residence of the House of Wittelsbach, who ruled the Palatinate of the Rhine from here for over 400 years. The palace is a demonstration of their royal status but the walls also tell of the castle's destruction at the end of the 17th century, its slumber in the 18th century and the beginning of tourism in the Romantic era of the 19th century. This image was published in Portfolio of Photographs, of Famous Scenes, Cities and Paintings by John L Stoddard, c1899.
The Margravial Opera House is the world’s best-preserved example of a free-standing Baroque court theatre. It was modelled on the largest opera houses of the time in Vienna and Dresden and has been on the World Heritage List since 2012. The driving force behind this exceptional project was the music and theatre enthusiast Margravine Wilhelmine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. The occasion for its construction was the wedding of her only daughter, Elisabeth Friederike Sophie, in 1748. This picture was taken some 150 years later depicting the theatre and the Redoutenhaus next to it on the left.
In the Middle Ages, the Hanseatic city of Lubeck achieved extraordinary prosperity through trade and its wealth was to be protected against external threats with strong walls and powerful fortifications. Only four city gates allowed access: the castle gate in the north, the Mill Gate in the south and the now famous Holsten Gate in the west. To the east, the Wakenitz river protected the town and the Huxter Gate led travellers out of the city. Today, only the Castle Gate and the Holsten Gate, pictured here around the turn of the 19th century, exist.
Sanssouci (meaning 'without worries' or 'carefree') was built by Frederick the Great and features Rococo-style architecture; a magnificent palace garden with countless statues; and vineyard terraces, which appear to be planted with shrubs and bushes as shown in this photo taken in around 1900. The Prussian king wanted to be buried in a crypt on the highest vineyard terrace as, even in death, he wanted to be close to Sanssouci. His wish was fulfilled, although not until 1991. Frederick the Great's tomb is located on the upper terrace.
The Speicherstadt is the largest warehouse ensemble in the world and covers around 26 hectares. Built on thousands of oak piles between 1883 and the end of the 1920s, the complex has been a listed building since 1991. This stereoscopic image shows the Speicherstadt with church spires, a bridge and horse-drawn carriages. Stereoscopy is a method utilised for capturing 3D images and simulating depth perception through stereographic images or stereograms. It involves presenting two slightly offset images separately to each eye of the viewer.
The Niederwald Monument (Niederwalddenkmal) is dedicated to the events of the Franco-Prussian War and commemorates the historical significance of the Rhine as a border river. The memorial was inaugurated in 1883, only a few years before this picture was taken. Standing over 39 feet tall (12m), Germania embodies the unity of the nation, which at that time consisted of 25 individual states. The monument is one of the most popular in Germany.
This photo shows the inside of the Klosterkirche (monastery church) in the Nymphenburg, which served as a summer residence for the electors and kings of Bavaria in the 18th century. It is hard to imagine today that back when it was completed in 1679, the palace was located in an open field, two hours away from the city centre and the Munich Residence. Today, the 180-hectare complex, with its extensive palace park, is the second largest green space in Munich and one of the most important recreational areas in the Bavarian capital.
From 16-19 October in 1813, Leipzig was the scene of the Battle of the Nations. The allied armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden achieved a decisive victory over Napoleon and his allies on German soil. The result: 600,000 soldiers from over 20 nations involved, 100,000 dead or wounded and a typhus epidemic in Leipzig that claimed the lives of 10% of the population. In 1913, the Monument to the Battle of the Nations (Volkerschlachtdenkmal) was inaugurated as a national monument and this photo was taken the same year.
Germany’s biggest island, Rugen, is famous for its white chalk cliffs which rise along the Baltic Sea. This vista along the east coast from the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Sicht viewing point was immortalised in an image dating to around 1920. Every year, thousands of visitors flock to Rugen to see the most famous chalk promontory of the Stubbenkammer (most visited part of the chalk cliff coastline). At a height of 387 feet (118m), the Konigsstuhl (the main chalk cliff on the Stubbenkammer) rises imposingly above the sea and offers an unforgettable view of the coast from its platform.
Located close to Dresden, Duke Moritz built what is probably Saxony's most beautiful moated castle as a hunting lodge in 1542. From 1723, Elector Augustus the Strong rebuilt the magnificent palace. Today, it houses one of the most important collections of hunting trophies in Europe, as well as ornate gold-leather wallpaper and the Feather Room, a room decorated with millions of colourful bird feathers. Taken with a view over the water, this photo shows the century-old castle which sits on an artificial island.
In this photograph, three French soldiers look at the confluence of the rivers Moselle and Rhine, with the monument to Emperor Wilhelm I, who had brought about the complete unification of Germany after three wars, barely visible in the middle of the image. Deutsches Eck is 121 feet high (37m) in total – 46 feet (14m) of which are accounted for by the equestrian statue alone. It now attracts more than two million visitors a year and has been a part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002.
Imposing and undamaged, the medieval 12th-century Eltz Castle is well hidden in the middle of the forest on a rocky spur. This photo from the 1930s demonstrates its impressive high towers, picturesque oriel windows with pointed roofs and protective walls. The castle appears out of nowhere on one of the many beautiful hiking trails visitors take. Eltz Castle towers majestically in a side valley of the Moselle near Mayen. This majestic sight even adorned the 500 Deutsche Mark bill for several decades.
In AD 170 when the Romans laid down the first stone for the Porta Nigra, they could hardly have imagined it still standing centuries later. After all, the city gate was only one of four in Trier at the time – and one of many in the entire Roman Empire. Now, around 1850 years later, the 'Black Gate' is the best-preserved Roman city gate north of the Alps and the best place to visit when it comes to Roman rule in what is now Germany. This photo from the 1930s shows how Porta Nigra looked for centuries, and still looks today.
Plonlein translates as 'little square' or 'little square by the fountain' and refers to its location with the leaning yellow half-timbered house in the middle, the fountain in front of the house and the Siebersturm tower on the left, as well as the Kobolzell Gate from 1360 on the right (as seen in this photo). Plonlein is the symbol of Rothenburg and has graced book and magazine covers, appeared in video games, comics and Japanese mangas. It even served as a typical medieval backdrop for films, such as the 1940 Walt Disney classic Pinocchio.
Not much has changed since this black and white photo was taken 90 years ago. With a drop of 535 feet (163m), the Triberg waterfalls are among Germany's highest. This year-round destination in the Black Forest has three trails which lead visitors through the area. The torrential masses of water are particularly impressive during melting periods or after heavy rain. Visit in the evening and you'll see the waterfalls illuminated until 10pm, creating a magical atmosphere.
The Berlin Wall enclosed West Berlin over a length of 96 miles (155km) and cut a swathe through the entire city centre. The wall was intended to prevent people from fleeing from East Berlin to the West. From 1961, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) had the wall extended with numerous other border barriers to form a deeply staggered barrier system. The resulting border section was known as the Death Strip because many people were killed there while trying to escape. In 1989, the fall of the wall heralded the end of the SED dictatorship. This photo shows the Brandenburg Gate in 1961 with the newly erected wall around it.
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