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81 Before & After Pics Showing How The World Has Changed Over Time By Re.Photos
We are a group of people who love re-photographies (“before and after”, “then and now”) because of their potential to tell fascinating stories with just two pictures. There wasn’t really a central hub for this kind of art so we got to work and built re.photos. It’s a website that enables people to browse hundreds of pictures or upload and align their own.
Today we would like to share our excitement with you and show you some of the best pictures (in our opinion) our users contributed. Hopefully, these comparisons are as exciting for you as they are for us!
#2 Seljestadjuvet, Odda, Norway, 1887 - 2014
#3 Martin Luther Statue, Dresden, Germany, 1958 - 2014
There are probably some crazy before and after photos of Dresden related to the war.
#5 Quai Des Nations, Paris, France, 1900 - 2017
The before had beautiful buildings , but the fact that there are trees there now makes me feel it's changed for the good .
#6 Corner Of Ratajczaka And Św. Marcin Streets, Poznań, Poland, 1945 - 2017
It's corner of Ratajczaka and Św. Marcin Streets. "Skrzyżowanie" means "crossroads" in Polish. :)
#7 Pripyat, Ukraine, 1986 - 2016
Context: Top photo is shortly before the Chernobyl meltdown (this is the nearby town where the employees and their families lived).
#8 Chaney Glacier, USA, 1911 - 2005
#9 Engabreen Glacier, Norway, 1889 - 2010
Axel Lindahl’s picture of Engabreen from 1889 shows the foot of the glacier, where there was only ice, glacial gravel, water and bare mountainsides in a seemingly cold and hostile landscape. Now, more than 120 years later, the valley has become far more fertile. Birch forest, shore meadows, willow thickets and marshland have established themselves, while the glacier arm has retreated far back up the mountainside.
#10 Moulin Rouge, Paris, France, 1900 - 2016
The first picture is definitely not from 1900. Judging by the cars, it was taken around 1930. This is what the place actually looked like in 1900, before a fire destroyed the building in 1915: Moulin-Rouge-1.jpg 
#11 Horse Cart And Steam Locomotive, Mont Saint-Michel, France, 1908 - 2016
#12 Reichstag, Germany, 1945 - 2012
#13 Hammerfest, Norway, 1889 - 2004
#14 Frauenkirche Dresden, Dresden, Germany, 1897 - 2010
The original construction was destroyed almost entirely in WWII. The current one was completed in 2005. The black bricks in the new church are some that were part of the original construction.
#17 Osnabrück, Germany, 1904 - 2016
Interesting how the original field boundaries ended up forming the streets and roads .
#19 Osnabrück Central Railway Station, Germany, 1965 - 2015
I think it would look better without all these bikes, although it is a healthier way of getting around compared to cars tbh.
#20 Nowomiejska Street, Łódź, Poland, 1874 - 2016
#22 Szyperska Street, Poznań, Poland, 2006 - 2017
#23 Kjeåsen Railway Bridge, Kjeåsen, Norway, 1927 - 2008
#24 The Eiffel Tower, Paris, France, 1900 - 2017
The Seine bank during the world’s fair of 1900. Next to the Eiffel Tower, the “Globe Céleste” was one of the main attractions. It was a monumental heavenly globe of 45 meters in diameter, in which visitors could sit in a chair, while panoramas of the solar system were passed over. The ball was carried by 4 pillars, between which stairs and elevators allowed the visitors the ascent. In the “Marerama”, the building with the four corner towers to the left, visitors were simulated to be on the deck of a ship with a panorama of the large Mediterranean ports. The exhibition pavilions located directly on the shore on the left were dedicated to navigation, trade and navigation.
#26 St. Matthew Evangelical Church, Łódź, Poland, 1937 - 2017
#28 St-Gervais-Et-St-Protais, France, 1918 - 2017
I assume this is a church? A church where they evidently don't want you to sit for very long...
#29 The Grinnell Glacier, Montana, USA, 1911 - 2008
The 1911 photo shows Grinnell Glacier poised at the top of the waterfalls in the foreground and joined with what is now called Salamander Glacier in the background. Grinnell described this wall of ice as being 1,000 feet high in 1887. As of 2008, that wall of ice is gone and Grinnell Glacier is not even visible in the contemporary photograph. Instead, it is behind the buff-colored ridge just above the waterfalls. Salamander Glacier lies along the Garden Wall below the ridgeline. This glacier is thinning in the middle so rapidly that it will probably be in two pieces within a few years. To the upper left is the small, rounded glacier, Gem Glacier, that until recently had not shown signs of retreat. It, too, is now becoming smaller.
#30 Karlstor, Munich, Germany , 1910 - 2017
It's a shame how a lot of the ornate detail gets lost when buildings are renovated
#32 Gymnasium, Osnabrück, Germany, 1870 - 2015
Interesting how they put the attic into use by adding the dormers (when the roof was replaced?).
#33 Łódź, Poland, 1887 - 2015
#34 Hôtel De Ville, France, 1871 - 2014
Top photo must show the destruction from the uprising mentioned a few photos earlier. Very interesting.
#36 Rue De La Paix, Paris, France, 1871 - 2016
Barricade of revolutionary Paris Commune in 1871 in the rue de la Paix (confluence Place Vendôme). In spring of 1871, it comes for an uprising in Paris of the workers and soldiers of the National Guard against the conservative government. In spontaneous elections a Paris city council (commune) is formed, whose members (communards) try to enforce the transformation of France into a socialist union of sovereign communities against the will of the central government. After bloody clashes the communards finally gain control of Paris.
#37 St. Nicholas' Church, Berlin, Germany, 1939 - 2013
#39 Lunch Atop A Skyscraper, New York, Usa, London, England, 1932 - 2011
I have never liked the photo from 1932 because every time I've seen it my abdomen tightens involuntarily! The one from 2011 would suggest that construction safety standards continue to need more study.
#40 Shepard Glacier, USA, 1913 - 2005
#41 The Place Des Victoires, Paris, France, 1914 - 2017
I love how beautiful most of the structures are in Europe.....and if they were in the USA, they would have been torn down a long time ago for Trump Towers and Malls and Starbucks and Drug stores.
#42 Rudolstadt Marktstraße 54 Amtsgericht, Germany, 1906 - 2015
Sweet!! We have a tree now! But honesty, I love that the original architecture was not lost on this. Restore, repair, retain, not remodel..
#43 L'viv, Ukraine, 1943 - 2017
L'viv, Rynok Square. Strange to see this place so empty. It's (OK - wasin September 2017) much more crowded
#44 Bereich Um Das Brandenburger, Germany, 1928 - 2015
#45 Römerberg, Frankfurt, Germany, 1910 - 2017
#47 Sultan Abdul Samad, Malaysia, 1941 - 2016
The now image looks kind of photoshopped even though it may not be the case
#49 Notre-Dame, Paris, France, 1944 - 2017
The vehicle in the 1944 pic was a self-propelled howitzer called a "priest." Also the men next to it.
#50 Portobello Beach, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1919 - 2016
Where did everyone go? I mean, I guess they all had 97 years to find their way home.
#51 Japanese Troops Advancing Through Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1942 - 2016
#52 Blick Vom Kap, Germany, 1961 - 2009
#54 The Eiffel Tower, Paris, France, 1888 - 2017
#55 Near Poznań, Poland, 1936 - 2017
If that building could only talk, imagine what it has witnessed.
#57 Svartisen Glacier, Norway, 1989 - 2017
#59 Opera Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam, 1945 - 2015
Most people seeing this pic will not realize they are seeing the start of the Viet Nam war there
#60 St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, Ireland, 2004 - 2013
#62 Nordkap, Norway, 1975 - 2015
Are these the same people, perhaps on their honeymoon in the top picture?
#63 The Old St. Louis County Courthouse, St. Louis, Illinois, 1865 - 2015
#64 Brandenburger Tor, Berlin, Germany, 1976 - 2005
Attention, you are now leaving West Berlin...may be they should have left the sign...for historical purpose.
#65 Pavillons Of The Nations, Paris, France, 1900 - 2017
It seems a shame all the ornate buildings are gone, but they were probably just temporary attractions.
#68 Checkpoint Charlie, Germany, 1961 - 2009
#69 San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, California, 1980 - 2007
#70 Osnabrück, Germany, 1953 - 2015
#72 Rue De Rivoli, Paris, France, 1900 - 2016
#75 Kyrkö Mosse, Sweden, 1980 - 2015
#79 Poznań, Poland, 1968 - 2017
