Rotterdamse Vismarkt aan de Blaak (1920)

A.I. Enhanced and colorized (slightly damaged) film about the fishmarket at De Blaak in the Dutch harbour city of Rotterdam a century ago in color.

Rotterdam lies on the West coast of The Netherlands and still has one of Europe's most important harbors. It connects the North Sea via the Nieuwe Waterweg to the main rivers like the Maas and Rhine that flow deep into Europe.


The film shows the fishermen who sell their catch to local fish traders as wel as to the general public. Compared to todays standards the handling and packaging of the fish is crude and the hygiene measures are highly questionable. But life was entirely different then and should not really be viewed through todays eyes,

This film was made twenty years before the destruction of the entire old center of Rotterdam as the result of a bombardement by the Germans on the 14th of May 1940.


A beautifully restored and colorized film about the aftermath of this bombardement can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk77Dia5FwY

Rotterdam around 1930 can be viewed here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbc_SYVB56c


The original B&W film has been motion-stabilized, speed-corrected, AI enhanced and AI colorized by means of sophisticated modern video software.


Nederland