The team of Topothequers presented the new Topotheque of Senftenberg at the town hall. This idyllic Lower Austrian market town lies in the lower Krems Valley. The castle ruins and the parish church are visible from afar, serving as prominent landmarks. From the right vantage point, the two structures create a romantic scene. The Gothic church itself also sits enthroned like a castle on the rock and houses an art-historical gem: the famous Renaissance organ. The picturesque location of the landmark buildings, the castle and the church, along with the changing surrounding structures, is clearly comparable by these two photographs, taken over 100 years apart.
Historical delicacies are featured in the photograph of this shop, which advertises them on its main sign. Alongside these are advertisements for the then-commonly broad product range of a department store: laundry detergent, scouring powder, soup seasoning, cooking fat, and above it all, the advertising sign for the insurance company. This company, contrary to what its name might suggest, did not rise from the ashes, but rather plunged Austria into a veritable political crisis in 1936. Thus, this unassuming tin sign provides a clue to the period in which the photograph was taken and a possible entry point into further historical events that extend far beyond the market town of Senftenberg.