Salzburg's hidden photo history: How pictures changed the city

The city of Salzburg presents itself in the new light: A fascinating view of the beginnings of photography in the region is currently being shown in the Museum of Modernity. Under the title “Image turn. Time turn-History of early photography in Salzburg between 1839-1877”, the Salzburg Museum presents a comprehensive exhibition that illuminates the development of photography in the past 150 years. Martin Hochleitner, the director of the museum, emphasizes that the research does a pioneering work and gives a deep insight into the history of visual capture, as recently reported by orf.at

The beginnings of photography in Salzburg

The exhibition shows remarkable works that document the change from a prince -bishop's residence city to a bourgeois metropolis. The pharmacist Johann Joseph Schgör is particularly noteworthy, one of the first photographers in the state who worked with an expensive technique of silver plates. The change is also visible through numerous portraits that show the inclination of the people to stage themselves photographically. It was only as cheaper procedures such as the negative-positive process that simple citizens could also have portraits made, which underlines the social importance of photography.

In addition, the development of the cityscape in the exhibition was discussed: the once unpredictable Salzach was regulated and many historical city fortifications were demolished. One of the outstanding photographs dates from 1858 and shows the Salzburg Cathedral before the devastating fire of 1859, which impressively illustrates the dramatic change of the city. In addition, the Museum of Modernity, which was built on the Mönchsberg, has become increasingly important in 2004 and has been showing a wide range of contemporary art since then, as from panoramatours.com . This combination of historical documentation and modern art offers visitors a unique perspective on Salzburg's cultural development.