Discovery in the Paderborn archive: Earliest photos of the Marian column unveiled!

Discovery in the Paderborn archive: Earliest photos of the Marian column unveiled!

In the Paderborn city history, a newly discovered photo has played a special role. The picture that shows the Marian column in 1862 has now been registered in the Paderborn city and district archive. It is one of the oldest known representations of this iconic pillar, which is announced in 1854 in connection with the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. The Marian column itself was inaugurated on December 8, 1861 and is considered an important monument in the city.

The photographic representation is 6.2 x 10 cm and is mounted on cardboard of about 7 x 11 cm as a so -called Carte de Visite. This photo technology, which was patented in 1854, made photographs widespread and more accessible. Archivist Andreas Gaidt suspects that this picture is the first to show the Mariian column in combination with the Marienplatz 12 building.

The authors of the image

Wilhelm Köppelmann and Carl Willcke, both Paderborn photographer, are traded as possible authors of the photo. Köppelmann chose Paderborn as his home in 1851 and opened a studio on Rosenstrasse in 1863, while Willcke, who came to Paderborn in 1862, ran his studio directly on Marienplatz. The latter was in the immediate vicinity of the Marian column, which increases the likelihood that he is the photographer of the picture.

The photo could have been taken towards the end of 1862 - an extra -ported that is supported by the trees in the background. Historical records show that the cityscapes in Paderborn were only offered in general from 1869, with the exception of the column of Mary. The time of origin of the picture thus indicates the creative power of Willcke, especially since he only died in 1871 and his studio changed hands in 1869.

The archive and future projects

The Paderborn city and district archive has made remarkable progress in the digitization of its collections in recent years. In autumn 2019, an exhibition on "Early photographers / photographs from the city and district of Paderborn" will take place in the Paderborn district house. This will give another look into the photographic past of the region and the work of photographers such as Friedrich Hundt, who worked in Paderborn. Meanwhile, the search for further historical photographs and their authors remains a central concern of the archive.

The archive may contain other older views of the city, but only as reproductions. A reproduction dated in 1942 starts the template around 1870, which could be designed as a daguerreotype. Check the archivists ...

The discovery of the photos of the Marios pillar taken in 1862 show the effort to preserve and present the historical heritage of Paderborn. One of the remarkable publications about the history of the city is the book "Paderborn in the Weimar Republic 1918-1930" by Detlef Grothmann, which has already made a significant contribution to the documentation of city history. The publisher, which publishes this and other works, is the Bonifatius pressure that is closely linked to city history.

The development of the city of Paderborn, especially in the field of photography, is not only fascinating, but also documents the social changes that the region shaped in the 19th and 20th centuries.