Shot by an unknown American tourist, this silent 1930s 16mm home movie footage of Heidelberg, Berlin, and Köln (Cologne), Germany during the interwar period of the 1930s offers views of historic architecture and city skylines. Incidentally, this print also offers excellent examples of the harmful, decaying effects of moisture and variable temperature storage upon photochemical film (TRT 11:38).
Title card: “On the Rhein and Heidelberg” (0:08). Hotel Die Hirschgasse, in Heidelberg, then-painted “Gästehaus zir Hirschgasse.” This historic country-style luxury hotel dates back as early as 1472, was mentioned by Mark Twain in his book, “A Tramp Abroad,” and remains in operation to this day (0:10). Heidelberg Dam & Lock. A high-elevation panorama of Heidelberg shows the Church of the Holy Spirit (0:45). Ruins of Heidelberg Castle and city skyline (1:11). Statues and ivy on the Friedrich Building or Friedrichsbau (1:32). A tour group observes the castle ruins from behind a guard post. The “round tower” and surrounding foliage. Rooftops and freestanding castle walls (2:04). The River Neckar and Bavarian mountain sides. Distant train tracks (3:01). A ship is seen through fog (3:34). Title card: “Germany. Rhein” (3:51). Long cargo ships cruise along the Rhine river (3:58). The scene shifts to Berlin. The German Church (Neue Kirche) in Gendarmenmarkt square (4:07). Mohrenstraße, trolley style streetcars and pedestrians (5:00). A shaky panorama reveals the Konzerthaus Berlin, an example of classical architecture, with doric columns, a raking cornice, and pediment. A statue of poet Friedrich Schiller (The Schiller Monument) in the classical sculpture style (5:15). Neue Kirche reappears briefly. Another Konzerthaus statue of an angel riding a lion (5:59). A closer shot of streetcars and passengers. A streetcar ad for Odol mouthwash. A pharmacy: “Apotheke König Shlomo” (6:29). Horse-drawn carts carry boxes, barrels (6:43). Riverfront views and Berlin skyline. Distant sailboats. A steam-powered ship with funnel smokestacks for boiler exhaust passes by in closeup (6:49). Aboard the steamship. Passing docks (7:22). Title card: “Koln and the Rhein” (7:48). Cologne from afar (7:52). A steamship billows black smoke in the distance. Another steamer in closeup (8:15). A larger passenger ship cruises the Rhine river (8:40). Great St. Martin’s Church, in the Romanesque style, before its bombing during World War II. A pan reveals pedestrians and South Bridge. Boats at harbor (8:54). Passengers boarding the “Düsseldorfer” More streetcars advertising Odol. Kölner Dom aka Cologne Cathedral can be glimpsed in the background. South Bridge reappears (9:13). 1930s automobiles and pedestrians in period dress travel along the waterfront (9:54). A large equestrian statue and passing cars (10:19). Elegant dining at an elevated waterfront restaurant with white tablecloths. Elderly women wear hats, a younger woman wears pigtails. A man wearing a bowtie rises from his seat, smiling (10:52). A luxury passenger automobile, possibly a Maybach. The camera tilts up, showing the circular restaurant’s likely exterior (11:15).
The Rhine river is the 2nd-longest in Central and Western Europe. It has its sources in Switzerland and flows north into Germany and the Netherlands, and out to the North Sea. Heidelberg is popularly known as a university town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, on the river Neckar. Heidelberg Castle (Heidelberger Schloss) is an historic Renaissance-era ruin north of the Alps. Berlin, Germany’s capital, dates back still further, to the 13th century. Cologne, spans the Rhine River in western Germany, and represents the region’s cultural hub.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
