'The Old Bridge' Photo

Photographer’s Note

I continue trawling through my archive of slides for this series of pictures taken on a trip to Heidelberg in May 1991.

All pictures were taken on slide film (probably Kodak Ektachrome). They have since been scanned and converted to digital using Photoshop and NeatImage.

The last picture in this series depicts 'The Old Bridge, which crosses the River Neckar at this point.

Some information about the bridge from the town's official web site, which is available in German and English (http://ww2.heidelberg.de/Altstadt-Information):

Friedrich Hölderlin wrote poems about it, and so did Gottfried Keller. Countless painters have also immortalized it in their works: the Old Bridge, whose real name is the Carl Theodor Bridge after the man who had it built. The bridge’s nine red sandstone arches span the Neckar River and blend harmoniously into their surroundings, framed by the river and mountains.

The Old Bridge is actually relatively young, and was preceded by many older bridges made of wood. The first bridge was recorded at this site in 1284. But like all of the wooden bridges that followed, it eventually fell prey to high water and ice. This finally prompted Prince Elector Carl Theodor – after a major flood with ice had destroyed the last wooden bridge in 1784 – to construct the first stone bridge in 1786-88. Raised bents in its middle allowed water to drain off quickly when the river flooded.

On March 29, 1945, one of the very last days of the War, German soldiers used explosives to render all of Heidelberg’s Neckar bridges impassable, including the Old Bridge. But thanks to a drive to collect donations that was enthusiastically supported by the town’s residents, work to rebuild it began as soon as March 14, 1946. It was inaugurated on July 26, 1947. In 2001 the Old Bridge was added to the World Monuments Fund, a list of the world’s most endangered monuments.

Budapestman, ChrisJ, besnard, saxo042, rodgerg, amaryllis, mikolaj_kawa, jlbrthnn, Buin, jhm, Cricri, asajernigan, Royaldevon, gracious, dareco has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mauro61 (15304) 2008-12-07 0:27

ciao Snunney,
una foto dall'ottima inquadratura e ben contrastata.
Buona la profondità e la luce che crea dei bei giochi di luce sull'acqua del fiume, ben fatto
buona giornata
maurizio

Budapestman (41686) 2008-12-07 0:47

Hi Stephen,
Superb shot from this beautiful historical city with spectacular composition and perspective. The architectural details are amazing, the POV is very attractive, the lights are strong. The note is superb too. Have a nice sunday!
George

ChrisJ (70125) 2008-12-07 1:07

Bonjour Stephen

Nice repetition of the arches & spansd of the old stone bridge which is well placed in the frame off centre to the left. Superb clarity & sharpness. Tfs!

besnard (30560) 2008-12-07 1:09

Bonjour Stephen
Un scan réussi avec un angle bien choisi pour nous faire admirer ce pont qui a beaucoup d'allure.
Merci pour le partage et bon dimanche.
Nicole

saxo042 (15544) 2008-12-07 1:28

Hi Stephen,
A very fine capture of this bridge. I like the perspective and the POV with the bridge leading up to the beautiful building on the other side!
Regards
Gunnar

rodgerg (23849) 2008-12-07 1:54

Hello Stephen,

Une composition très bien éuilibrée et un POV bien choisi avec le pont qui structure l'iamge et guide progressivement notre regard vers la ville dans le BG.
Beau travail.
Excellent dimanche à toi.
Roger

wolf38 (12728) 2008-12-07 1:58

Hello Stephen. This motive is world-famous. I already know Heidelberg since my childhood. The last mark was I there more than 25 years ago. Your photo brings me this city worth seeing in memory. Perfect composition and perspective. Very beautifully. Best regards, Wolfgang.

amaryllis (17381) 2008-12-07 2:05

Bonjour
un belle photo de ce vieux pont malgré cette photo scannée, un tres bon cadrage nous permettant d'apprécier un large plan de ce pont, une belle perspective
bon dimanche
juliette

mikolaj_kawa (29933) 2008-12-07 2:30

Hello Stephen! Amazing bridge. Wonderful POV, very good perspective. Nice lightness. Good sharpness. Original picture. Well done!

jlbrthnn (37749) 2008-12-07 2:33

Bonjour Stephen,
Il est dommage de n'avoir qu'un ciel de cette nature, mais personne n'y peut rien, aucune correction n'est possible. Celà ne nuit pas à la splendide architecture et à la présence historique de la cité. Un bon travail photographique et de numérisation.
Bon dimanche
Cordialement
Joël

Buin (37514) 2008-12-07 2:46

Hallo Stephen!
Here the colours show that the picture was taken "some years ago". Nevertheless the point of view here creats a wonderful sight of Heidelberg and also an amazing depth into the scenery. Yes, it's a must see ...
Thank you for the excellent note!
Greetings from grey and cold Germany!
Frank

jhm (82319) 2008-12-07 3:14

Hello Stephen,

A pity of the gray sky, this is not the mistake of photographer but the bad weather
An excellent sharpness and clarity, good perspective too.
Well balanced and the colours are crisp and bright.
Reflections and compositon are superb.
I can enjoy of this type pictures.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice sunday,
John

jurek1951 (25930) 2008-12-07 3:25

Hi Stephen,
Beautiful shot of the bridge,good architectural shot, well composed and very good exposure.
Georg

Cricri (43030) 2008-12-07 4:02

Hi Stephen
Un ciel blanc qui ne nuit pas a la beauté intéressante de l'architecture de cette région, belle perspective et image scanné
Good sunday
cricri

asajernigan (14090) 2008-12-07 5:18

Stephen,
This is a nice shot of this old bridge. Your composition is fine showing the bridge from an angle that gives the scene nice depth and direction. The bridge leads the eye into the shot nicely. The sky is a bit washed out but the photo is still of high quality.
TFS,
Asa

Royaldevon (5910) 2008-12-07 6:36

Hello Stephen,

A great pov with this interesting multi-arched bridge leading the way across the river.
The statue in the f/g and the tall pinnacle on the far bank give a good sense of balance.

Kind regards,
Bev :-)

testmaniac (12072) 2008-12-07 7:49

Hi Stephen,nice architecture photo with good composition and POV. Only the colors can be better but for old photo is very good.

TFS

Phil

Gerrit (35613) 2008-12-07 8:25

Hi Stephen,
excellent POV and composition and delicious nostalgic colors.
Regards, Gerrit

Fis2 (45687) 2008-12-07 8:32

Witaj Stephen!
Very curious place. Beautiful bridge and interesting tower.
I like the frame and composition. Good scan.
Well done
Regards
Krzysztof

gracious (20017) 2008-12-07 9:13

Hello Stephen,
Good morning from NZ to you!
Great quality even from scanned! the sharpness and the colour is truly pleasant indeed, especailly the good exposure and focus! just great!
I loved the lighting over it very much
many thanks
cheers
Tony

Nicou (44641) 2008-12-07 11:05

Hello,

quel beau pont, avec ce arches, le cpatage par dessous est mangigique, bruissement sur l'eau, de beaux bâtiment, superbe.

bravo et amitié

Nicou

Silvio1953 (41557) 2008-12-07 12:23

Hi Stephen, great perspective of a wonderful bridge and lovely town, beautiful composition, very well done, ciao Silvio

dareco (17104) 2008-12-07 20:30

A very beautiful old bridge. I like this pov and the architecture is very nice. A nice picture. TFS

John_F_Kennedy (31263) 2008-12-07 23:29

Good scan of this old picture. You choose a good POV to capture this famous bridge.
Best wishes,
Achim

toto (18703) 2008-12-09 13:34

Bonsoir,
belle photo de ce superbe pont qui sous ce bon POV nous montre bien ses arches, au loin, cette église et son clocher sont de toute beauté aussi.
Bonne netteté dans l' ensemble et couleurs très agréables qui ressortent de votre photo.

Amitiés Thomas

npecanhuk (13713) 2008-12-12 9:15

Hello Stephen!
The bridge seems to be very interesting and beautiful and I really enjoyed the viewpoint that was chosen, including the river, the city and the hills in a very well balanced composition!
I really like it!
TFS - Congratulations!
Warmest regards,
Neyvan