44. Tell’s Monument, Altdorf - 17 Sept 1900 | Glass Plates
Standing proudly in the market square of Altdorf is the William Tell Monument. Built by Richard Kissling between 1882 and 1895, this statue depicts the famed folk hero, William Tell, standing upright with his trusty crossbow rested on his shoulder. Beside him is his son, who gazes up admiringly at his father.
The monument stands on the location of perhaps the most famous episode in Tell’s story – outlined in the last article – as this is the supposed spot where Tell was able to prove his marksmanship by splitting the apple on his son’s head, thereby saving them from immediate execution by the tyrannical town bailiff, Gessler.
Tell’s Monument, Altdorf
While appearing timeless, it is worth noting that when this photo was taken the monument was only half a decade old. Within the photo are scenes from daily life of Altdorf; a lady leans into a pram on the lefthand side of frame, her foot lifted as she checks on her child; a girl in a white dress can be seen on the edge of frame with a dog at her feet; and the shutters on the windows are a mix of open to let the mountain air in, and tightly closed. It is a peaceful scene immortalised by chance while the photographer focused on capturing an iconic monument.
Mapping the Unknown Photographer’s Route
Although the missing box of glass plates leaves a gap in our knowledge of the journey that the unknown photographer took between Strasbourg and Rigi, the route taken in Switzerland is made easy to map by treating the various locations and monuments photographed as markers.
As seen below, the Swiss photos begin at Rigi, descend the mountain, follow the lake past Tell’s Chapel, and lead to this monument in Altdorf. As Tell’s Chapel was photographed from the lake, the photographer almost certainly travelled by boat for most of the 40km of this journey.
This leg of the journey covers the 16th and 17th of September.
Swiss Vistas
Throughout the past eight glass plates the Swiss mountains have been a constant on the skyline; the next two are no different, but the stunning village setting is something special.
I hope you will join me for a look at two photographic vistas from the 18th September 1900.
References
‘Monument of William Tell’, Switzerland Mobility <https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/hiking-in-switzerland/services/places-of-interest/sehenswuerdigkeit-018.html>
‘Tell Monument’, Uri website <https://www.uri.swiss/en/erleben/uri-1291-traditionell-modern/mythos-tell/tell-monument/>
1900 Glass Plates: This project explores a series of glass plates from the year 1900 with the eventual goal of travelling the same route as the photographer. It will be a varied journey that will stretch from simple blog posts examining each photo to videos and more. This project is in collaboration with photographer Aleksandar Nenad Zecevic, who’ll be restoring the photographs to bring out details dimmed by time. More to follow.
Read Another:
