Photo Museum Görlitz
The inventor of the first positive – negative – process was W. Henry Fox Talbot in the year 1835.
Louis J. M. Daguerre developed a process, the daguerreotype, whereby the picture taken by the camera is being permanently reproduced with chemicals. In 1839 published is this year the invention year of photography.
Inventor of the heliography, Joseph N. Nièpce, produced a verifiable the first permanent photographic image in 1826. It has been preserved today. It is seen as the forerunner of photography.
The "Gesellschaft für das Museum der Fotografie Görlitz e.V." exhibits in a permanent exhibition, technical equipment about the 100year photography history. Demonstration pieces were collected by the public, visitors and photo friends. Thanks to the great donation by the Hamburger entrepreneurs Carin and Hans, Peter Nehlsen was able to bring back this repro-camera to its production place.
The club-owned media-centre is situated at the factory building. There is also a computer cabinet, here you can participate in a variety of different workshops. A darkroom, which has been made available for public utilisation and a training room exist.
In the photo gallery, 1st floor of the company building, are exhibitions which change many times a year.
The camera carpentry "Ernst Herbst & Firl, factory for photographic apparatuses and utensils" (speciality: Art carpentry for salon and travel cameras) was founded in 1891. Some time later the owners bought a property in Görlitz, Löbauer Street No. 7.In 1893 „Ernst Herbst & Firl“ built on this piece of land a residential property and a factory building. In the following years a variety of companies established themselves on this premises, a.o. also the factory " Optical Workshops Oscar Simon" and later the "Optical mechanic Industry Institution Hugo Meyer & Co.".But on the 20 th July 1899 the premises belonging to "Ernst Herbst & Firl" was bought by the camera producer Heinrich Ernemann from Dresden. Two years later Ernst Herbst became Director of this company. 1905 his son Alfred Herbst took over the management. 1919 the company was dissolved and Alfred opened a "photo office" in the front building.1919 also the land was sold to the factory owner Hugo Gutte. From 1927 until 1990 many companies relocated their production facilities to the Löbauer Street 7. In 1994 Hans Peil bought and renovated the property. The Berlin born Werner Umstätter, a well known collector in the field of photography, displayed in an exhibition historical cameras, utensils and their respective history. Since 2001 the rooms and the building have been belonging to the Community for the Museum and Photography Görlitz e.VMore information under: http://www.fotomuseum-görlitz.de/