Kappeln, Germany, 1900

1900 – A historic postcard shows a view across Kappeln, Germany. Scan © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com

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The story behind the image

Yesterday I shared a 2004 image of the church St. Nikolai in Kappeln, Germany.

Last year I acquired a historic postcard from 1900 which was shot by an unknown photographer. It shows the skyline of Kappeln with the majestic St. Nikolai church overlooking the town. The river is the Schlei and is actually not a river but a fjord that leads to the city of Schleswig.

The bridge crossing the Schlei – prominently presented on the postcard – had been inaugurated in 1867. Before that, you had to use a paid ferry service. But even with the bridge in place you had to pay toll fees for using the bridge. The bridge rested on pontons and could not carry a lot of weight. That’s why train lines ended at the bridge, and the passenger cars were pulled individually (by horses) across the bridge before the ride to Flensburg could continue.

The ponton bridge was replaced by a modern bridge in 1927.

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The high resolution image

Capture Date	1900
Location	Kappeln, Germany
Image Source	14 x 8.8 cm postcard
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	6657 x 3230 Pixels
Copyright	Scan © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com