Photos Conquered Europe or Wehrmacht - foreign tourists

[raut]

Good day to everyone and good mood! Dear like-minded people, I decided to create a topic and I hope that it will be interesting. I invite everyone to take part in the study, identifying the images of occupied Europe. I love riddles and the process of solving them.

So: the German soldier did and did not write on it, thereby creating us, collectors and researchers, a kind of riddle, where the photo was taken, in what place, in what period ?? “You see, it’s interesting to learn more about photography,” so to speak, to look beyond its scope, besides, it also broadens one's horizons. This is our task, otherwise the photo will remain impersonal and not very interesting.

Let's all together try to solve these riddles, as well as virtually travel through the countries of the once occupied Europe.
I want to warn you that there will be many riddles and the topic promises to be interesting.
So, let's begin. The first photo is probably Brussels. What buildings in the photo are in the center and on the left?

 

[Jake84]

@raut

Do you speak English? It’s the site’s language and while we are not much of a rigid crowd about speaking perfect English, most of us can’t decipher Cyrillic.

 

[raut]

It is obvious that this arch is the entrance to some kind of bridge.
there is an inscription on the back of the photo.
Where in what locality is this arch?

 

[Gaz]

I'd suggest that the large church in the Brussels photograph is the Collegiate Church of Saints Peter and Guidon - http://notablechurchhouses.blogspot.com/2011/09/collegiate-church-of-saints-peter-and.html - but I can't figure out the other large building to the left, or indeed where the picture was taken from (Presumably somewhere high up to the North).

 

[guest0001]

The building on the left is the Brussels town hall.

 

[raut]

The building on the left is the Brussels town hall.

No, it doesn't look like it. The spire is completely different.

 

[Gaz]

Good stuff - my guess is wrong then, because the angles don't appear to be right.

 

[guest0001]

No, it doesn't look like it. The spire is completely different.

You are right, it isn't the town hall. It looks similar to the "Maison du Roi", opposite of the town hall though. But the back of the town hall should also be on the pic. So I have no clue......

 

[raut]

Friends, both of you are unfortunately wrong.Everything is not as simple as it seems at first glance.

 

[raut]

Friends, hello everyone. Riddles are gradually being solved.(Brussels) the buildings are identified as the Church of Saint-Serve (Schaerbeek) and the Schaarbeek Town Hall, now a municipal hotel, and this is how they look today.

 

[Fish&Chips]

Friends, hello everyone. Riddles are gradually being solved.(Brussels) the buildings are identified as the Church of Saint-Serve (Schaerbeek) and the Schaarbeek Town Hall, now a municipal hotel, and this is how they look today.

Just for reference, the town hall of Schaerbeek is still that, a town hall (see here in Dutch), and not a municipal hotel. The term "hôtel municipale" is just the French term for it.

 

[Fish&Chips]

It is obvious that this arch is the entrance to some kind of bridge.
there is an inscription on the back of the photo.
Where in what locality is this arch?

To me, this looks more like the gateway of an estate or castle. I was thinking of Kirchheim (Alsace, France) but there is no such facility nor is there a sizeable bridge of this kind.

 

[Fish&Chips]

Actually what is labeled "Kirchheim" appears to be the portal of the old bridge across the river Inn in Simbach (Bavaria) which leads into the town of Braunau on the other bank. There is a village named Kirchdorf nearby, so maybe the photographer mixed up something while on a sightseeing trip to the Führer's home town?

 

[raut]

Yes, this is definitely him.Unfortunately, it was blown up in 1945 together with the bridge.Now, instead of a portal, this composition is.

 

[raut]

Brussels again.In the center of the photo is the North Station, which was demolished in 1955.
We are not interested in the station, we are interested in the cathedral in the background photo.
Tell me what kind of cathedral it is, the basilica, as it is called.Does it currently exist?

 

[Picanha]

Wow remarkable detective work gents. The bridge in Simbach I thought would belong to a wine estate in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirchheim_an_der_Weinstraße as it seemed like an estate being behind it.

I have been in Simbach a few times but never noticed this bridge..

 

[raut]

As for the portal of the bridge.The bridge was blown up, however the portal was preserved and was not restored but demolished in 1947-1949
What for?

 

[raut]

The mystery about the church, captured in the background photo of occupied Brussels, has also been solved. Post # 15
The Church of St. Mary is quite difficult to find the first time, because it is located far from the center in the territory of the Muslim quarter. Nevertheless, this is no longer a mystery.

 

[Fish&Chips]

As for the portal of the bridge.The bridge was blown up, however the portal was preserved and was not restored but demolished in 1947-1949
What for?

With the need for a new bridge restoring the old portal most certainly would have been too expensive as the new bridge would have been built elsewhere from scratch.

 

[raut]

Here's another mystery, possibly Belgium.