Siegen around 1850: The Sieg Bridge, St. Martin's Church, Lower Castle

This view of the city shows Siegen around 1850 in a warm light in front of a sky with several towering clouds. In the foreground of the picture in landscape format, a stone bridge depicted in precise detail leads across the River Sieg with five arches. Behind it we see the Lower Castle and St. Martin’s Church. This perspective is embedded in the city’s collective memory as the so-called Scheiner view. Greenery lining the banks of the river and also visible beside St. Martin’s Church stands out brightly. A few elegantly dressed people stroll across the Sieg Bridge towards the city. These views by Jakob Scheiner and his son Wilhelm that exist in multiple versions formed a point of reference for urban development initiatives in recent decades, such as the ‘Siegen – Towards New Banks’ project. These days, the Scheiner view is obscured.