Ten panoramas of cities in Germany

This is a guest post by Jörg Dietrich, an architecture and streetscape photographer whom I met in Leipzig. Being an avid fan of architecture myself, I was impressed with his portfolio of streetscapes of cities around the world and I asked if he would like to showcase some of his photography on Velvet Escape. I was thrilled when he agreed! In this post, Jörg presents his ten panoramas of cities in Germany.

1. Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin

The buildings at the former inner Berlin Checkpoint Charlie house a museum dedicated to the history of the divided city (Mauermuseum). The building on the right was created during the international building exhibition in Berlin (IBA) in 1984 and designed by the American architect Peter Eisenmann (*1932). The facade bears a GDR emblem as well as a copy of the last Kremlin-flag. Read about how to spend a few days in Berlin.

2. Kaiserstrasse, Frankfurt

Kaiserstrasse is one of the last remaining architecture ensembles from the Gründerzeit area in Frankfurt. However, even here we see the modern Frankfurt skyline in the background with the Gallileo tower on the right and the silver tower on the left.

3. Buntgarnwerke, Leipzig

Leipzig is the largest city in the German state of Saxony and has been an important trade fair, book publishing and industrial city. Following the fall of the Berlin wall, which started with demonstrations in Leipzig, it slowly regains its economic importance. Here we see a former industrial complex, turned into a modern living complex – once the largest architectural complex in Wilhelminian style in Europe.

4. Goliathstrasse, Ratisbon or Regensburg

The Goliathstrasse with the Goliathhaus in the middle are a part of the UNESCO world heritage old town of Ratisbon (Regensburg in German). Ratisbon had been an important Roman castle on the Danube river and is one of the oldest cities in Germany.

5. Kaufingerstrasse, Munich

The Kaufingerstrasse is the major shopping street in Munich, the Bavarian capital. In the back we see the Frauenkirche (exactly “Dom zu unserer Lieben Frau”), which is the seat of the Archbishop of Munich and Freising. The iconic building with a height of 98.50 metres is one of the tallest buildings in Munich.

6. Medienhafen, Düsseldorf

The Media harbour (German Medienhafen) in Düsseldorf was developed as a modern business district with some spectacular architecture since the 1990s. Düsseldorf is the capital of the German state Northrhine-Westphalia and has a population of about 600.000.

7. Brückenstrasse, Chemnitz

This complex at the Brückenstrasse is an iconic remnant of the GDR in Chemnitz, the third largest city in Saxony. Iconic because of the world’s second largest portraiture bust, depicting Karl Marx. The city was called Karl-Marx-Stadt for almost 40 years.

8. Frankenwerft, Cologne

A section of the Rhine shore in the old town of Cologne. Here the streets have been moved underground and the Rhine Garden was established. This image also shows the start of the Carnival season in Cologne with numerous people celebrating.

9. Markt, Werdau

An example of a small German town, this panorama shows the market square in Werdau. The dominating building is the town hall, inaugurated in attendance of the Saxon king in April 1911.

10. Holländischer Brook, Hamburg

Hamburg is Germany’s second largest city with a population of about 1.8 million people and its most important harbour, lying on the Elbe river. This panorama shows a part of the historic Speicherstadt area of the harbour, an extensive area of large storehouses. Read about things to do in Hamburg.

About the photographer

Jörg Dietrich studied natural sciences in Bayreuth, London and Leipzig before turning towards cityscape and architecture photography.

By trying to create linear streetscapes he developed the project PanoramaStreetline, an archive producing and collecting linear city panoramas from all over the world.