750

Dear friends, this is the 750th blog. I will dedicate it to my last hometown Freiburg.

My dear and unforgotten wife, Elisabeth, is buried here. There is still enough space left for me.

Hase's self-portrait in 1860

This Freiburg blog features yesteryear photos by Gottlieb Theodor Hase that are presently on display at the graphics cabinet of the Augustinermuseum. Hase, born in 1818, started as a painter and daguerreotypist at Bayreuth in 1845, announcing in the local newspaper on August 14: "I paint portraits in oil, watercolor, pastel, miniature on ivory, and make chalk and pencil drawings in any format. Furthermore, I make daguerreotypes of all kinds, enlarging them into a larger scale."

When Hase moved to Freiburg in 1852, he gave up painting, earning money with portrait photography, and taking pictures of his new hometown. He was known and well-liked at Freiburg, where he joined the local artist circle, Ponte Molle.

Ponte Molle's heraldic shield shows G. Th. "Hare," sitting somewhat glumly on his camera, having broken his brush handle.

Hase 1860

One of Hase's first and most famous photos of his new hometown shows the Kaiserstraße with the Bertoldsbrunnen in front and St.Martin's Gate in the back.

August 12, 2020

The 2020 view shows a different Betoldsbrunnen, and the raised St. Martin's Gate. Note that the facade of the first house on the left has been placed a few meters back, while the following buildings now have archways.

This is Karl von Rotteck's Memorial in its original location on Franziskanerplatz - nowadays, Rathausplatz - in May 1850. However, the liberal von Rotteck became a persona non grata when the Revolution of 1848/49 failed.

 Bertold-Schwarz-Brunnen, Hase 1860

The city removed Rotteck's bust in a Nacht und Nebel Aktion (dawn raid) from June 22 to 23, 1851, and replaced it with the current Bertold-Schwarz-Brunnen one year later.

Hase 1862

Here is Hase's Bildreportage (photo report) about the second inauguration of Rotteck's Memorial, now placed in front of his former home.

Hase 1865

Here are people visiting the Memorial at its new site.

Hase 1865

Freiburg's Festhalle (art and festival hall) was destroyed during the air raid on November 27, 1944. In the photo at the left, the young man is Hase's son Fritz who took over the trade following his father's death in 1888.

Hase 1865

The entrance to the city by the Schwabentor in 1865 ...

... and today's view. Only the steeple of the Minster Church in the back and the yellow house on the left are still in their place.

Already early in his career, Gottlieb Theodor Hase won distinguished prizes.

Hase 1880

One of the most photographed scenes in Freiburg is Oberlinden. Entering the town through the Schwabentor, you see the linden tree in front of the bifurcation of  Salzstraße and Herrenstraße.

The black and white photo was taken in the 1920ies.

An evening scene on Juli 1, 2020

December 7, 2010.

And who does not remember Professor James Steakley's famous photo taken in December 2010, following the FMG Christmas dinner at the Greiffenegg-Schlössle? Admire the linden tree decorated by Herrenhut stars.

Otto Kokoschka 1984

And still, another famous person loved Oberlinden so much: Oskar Kokoschka. Note the green linden tree and the steeple of the Minster Church cut.

In 1964 Kokoschka offered his oil painting to the city of Freiburg for 100,000 Deutschmarks (50,000 euros). It was a bargain - but the city refused for "nothing typical" was depicted; besides, the cathedral tower was cut off.

In 1966, after almost two years of unsuccessful negotiations, Kokoschka eventually withdrew his offer. A private collector acquired the painting and, in a win-win situation, lent it to Freiburg's Museum of Contemporary Art.

Hase 1870

Another scene frequently photographed is St. Martin's Gate, taken from the south.

The scene in the photo taken in the 1930ies looks ...

... the same in 2020.

Hase 1886

The Minster Church as seen from Schlossberg.

In 1860 the photographic technique was already well-advanced. Physics professor Johannes Müller at Freiburg's university describes the detailed process in the first volume of his textbook on Physik und Meteorologie, 5th edition of 1856. Here is the translation:

"The Frenchman Niepce went quite far in the art of fixing photographs; only Daguerre, after many laborious attempts, found a method which is almost unbelievable."

The first page of Johannes Müller's textbook.

"The material on which Daguerre's photographs are recorded is a plated copper plate, i.e., a copper plate covered with a thin layer of silver. After properly cleaning, it is placed on a square porcelain dish containing an aqueous solution of chlorine iodine. The plate is exposed to the vapors of iodine until a golden yellow or violet layer of iodine silver is formed. Now the plate is protected from any external influence of light and inserted into the camera obscura exactly where a sharp image of the object is produced. After some time, the duration of which depends on various circumstances, the plate is removed from the camera obscura. At this point, no trace of an image can be seen, but it will soon appear if the plate is exposed to mercury vapor. As soon as the image is sufficiently distinct, the plate is placed in a sodium bicarbonate solution, which dissolves the coating of iodine silver, making it impossible for the light to interact further."

Colored print of 1856 of the solar spectrum in Müller's textbook

Later in 1859, Hase worked with Müller taking photographs of the absorption lines in the solar spectrum known as Frauenhofer lines. Their experiments were hurt by the problem that blue light is more effective on photo emulsions than red light. Unfortunately, they left no notes about their findings.

Following Gottlieb Theodor Hases's death in 1888, his son Fritz continued the photographic atelier.

Here is the corner of Rathausgasse and Franziskanerplatz with the Haus zum Rechen (House of the Rake, left) and the Haus zum Phoenix (House of the Phoenix, right) photographed in 1895 by Fritz Hase. The two buildings are connected by a wall with a gate leading to a courtyard.

This had been the building of the Old University since 1595. On its upper floor, father Hase made the solar spectral photographs for Professor Müller in 1859.

In 1896 the city bought the building and transformed it into the New Townhall by adding a decorative middle part. Here is a colored postcard from the beginning of the 20th century.

At the start of the Corona pandemic on March 19, 2020.

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