Mercor discovers Gdansk in 3D

The album "Trzeci Wymiar Gdańska" (The 3D Dimension of Gdansk) is a unique publication resulting from the collaboration between Mercor, Museum of Gdańsk, and Professor Andrzej Januszajtis. It allows for rediscovering the stereoscopic technique of photography and returning to its glory days.

The album showcases the city of Gdansk in three dimensions, thanks to a revival of stereoscopic photography. Each copy of the album is accompanied by a makeshift stereoscope, equipped with a viewer and two eyepieces, through which one can observe a pair of images taken in stereo. The frame, an integral part of the equipment, allows for the placement of an image featuring two slightly different perspectives of the same scene.

The beginnings of stereoscopic technique can be traced back 400 years ago, in the descriptions of Italian physicist Giambattista della Porta, who in 1593 contemplated the possibility of creating the illusion of spatial vision. Only in the first half of the 19th century did Sir Charles Wheatstone, an English physicist, build an apparatus for viewing three-dimensional images, which he named the stereoscope. - as emphasized by the Director of Museum of Gdańsk, Waldemar Ossowski, in the introduction.

The valuable collection of photographs featured in the publication includes, among others, pictures of units of the Prussian Navy taken by one of the most famous Gdansk photographers - Rudolf Theodor Kuhn, who also engaged in stereoscopic photography. Other artists who enriched the album with their works include photographers such as Heinrich Ernemann and Fritz Lachmund, collectors primarily focused on historical photographs and postcards.

Gdańsk owes a lot to photographers from the 19th and 20th centuries who dedicated immense efforts to capture the image of the city. Thanks to their photographs, Gdańsk, devastated in 1945, especially its historic city center, has largely managed to rebuild after the war damages - Prof. Andrzej Januszajtis.

The largest number of photographs included in the publication comes from the album "Danzig. Werden und Behauptung einer deutschen Stadt", which means "Gdańsk. The establishment and consolidation of a German city" from 1940.

The last group consists of photographs of modern-day Gdańsk in full color, taken by Dariusz Kula. Among them are bird's-eye view panoramas captured using a drone. The photos showcase the beauty of Gdańsk revived from the ashes of war. Comparing them to old views demonstrates the loving care with which the most precious monuments of our city were reconstructed.

We hope that this presented book will allow for a rediscovery of stereoscopic photography from years past. By looking at photographs from this collection, you will surely be transported back in time to the city before 1945 and discover many intriguing, sometimes forgotten, stories. - says Krzysztof Krempeć, CEO of Mercor S.A.

The album can be viewed and purchased at the main headquarters of the Gdańsk Museum.