Drie gezichten op waterwegen in Hamburg, afgebeeld het Oberhafenkanal en Elbbrückenportal, de Herrengrabenfleth en Holländischer Brook 1894

Wilhelm Dreesen captured these three views of Hamburg’s waterways with photography around the late 19th or early 20th century. The motif of water, so crucial to the life and trade of a port city, is rendered here not just as a geographical feature but as a mirror reflecting the cultural and economic vitality of Hamburg. Consider the presence of bridges, architectural feats that have always symbolized connections – both physical and metaphorical. Bridges are the axis mundi, a symbol seen across cultures, connecting the earthly and the divine. Here in Hamburg, they echo the bustling trade routes. We are reminded of the Rialto in Venice, a testament to mercantile power; or the Tower Bridge in London, a statement of industrial prowess. These images are not mere representations but active participants in a visual dialogue across time. The waterways, the bridges—each element invites us to trace their echoes through history, revealing the enduring human impulse to connect, to trade, and to build.