1931 – The beach of Grömitz in Germany, packed with beach chairs and sun seekers. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Julius Simonsen
The story behind the image
This image from the family archive shows Grömitz at the Baltic Sea as it used to be back in the early 1930s. My grandmother grew up in the area and loved the place. We even have a photo of her posing at the pier in Grömitz.
The image is a scanned postcard that was sent in August 1931. I am stunned by the enormous amount of beach chairs that occupy the tiny beach. Recent images show that Grömitz has changed a lot over the decades. There are now (moderate) high rises next to the beach but the beach itself seems to be wider and less packed.
It’ll be interesting to see the changes when we spend some time in Grömitz this summer. (I’ll keep you posted.)
The photographer, Julius Simonsen, was born in 1876 in a small town between Schleswig and Flensburg. A son of a buther, he originally was trained to become a merchant but decided to move into the photo business at the age of 20. He joined the studio of L. Christensen in Oldenburg in Holstein and acquired the business just four years later, in 1899. During his lifetime, Simonsen photographed all the beautiful spots in northern Germany and printed and sold the postcards under the label Kunstverlag Julius Simonsen.
Nikolaus Julius Simonsen died on the 29th October 1943 in Oldenburg at the age of 67. His stunning work will continue to live in the photo archives forever, showing the beauty of a world that has significantly changed since then.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | 1931 |
| Photographer | Julius Simonsen |
| Location | Grömitz, Germany |
| Image Source | 13.5 x 8 cm postcard image |
| Digital Image Source | EPSON Perfection 4870 Photo |
| Digital Image Source Format | TIFF, 48 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 6503 x 4204 Pixels |
| Copyright | © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Julius Simonsen |
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