UNDATED – The beach and promenade of Grömitz in Germany. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Julius Simonsen
The story behind the image
This undated historic postcard image shows the relaxed summer atmosphere in Grömitz at the German Baltic Sea probably in the early 1920s. My grandmother grew up in the area and loved the place. We even have a photo of her posing at the pier in Grömitz.
In the back you see the large Strandhalle (beach hall) as well as the long sea pier (on the left). Back in the 1920s you could rent rudder boats. Later, after the second World War, these were replaced by modern pedal boats. As we have been to Grömitz this summer, I can compare this image to the present situation. Of course, the beach promenade has changed significantly – new buildings have been erected, restaurants and shops changed, the trees have been cut, the rudder boats are no longer. Yet, the beach is still populated by sun seekers who rent a beach chair for a day or a week.
Today, the beach itself seems to be wider and less packed, though.
The photographer of this image is Julius Simonsen. He was born in 1876 in a small town between Schleswig and Flensburg. A son of a butcher, 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 | unknown, c. 1920 |
| Photographer | Julius Simonsen |
| Location | Grömitz, Germany |
| Image Source | 13 x 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 | 6238 x 3509 Pixels |
| Copyright | © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Julius Simonsen |
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