Nostalgic tour with the Historical Photo Route

The residents of Den Helder are full of nostalgia about the former Den Helder, the one that the residents knew from before and just after the Second World War. Between 1940 and 1945, many houses were bombed by the Allies to weaken the occupiers. In addition, the entire “Ouwe Helder” was demolished to the last stone by order of the occupying forces to have a free field of fire from the Atlantikwall. In the time of reconstruction, many buildings were demolished and replaced with modern buildings. To this day, buildings are still disappearing and then are rebuilt into something else. Cities are always changing, but Den Helder has undergone a major transformation over the last 100 years. De Nieuwedieper/Jutter feels nostalgic and the young resident is also curious. This is very clear on social media. A lot of attention is paid to digitizing the many old photos that Den Helder has. This often leads to lively discussions among the older visitors who have experienced this time themselves and more often provokes admiration among the young people.

What did Den Helder look like in the olden days and how do you make that visible again on the street? Through panels in the open air with beautiful old photos, of course – a historical photo route! Citymarketing submitted this plan to the municipality of Den Helder for the culture prize and... won! The plan, in collaboration with the Helderse Historische Vereniging, Stichting Afgestoft and the Helderse Vereniging voor Sociale Geschiedenis, is almost finished and will be placed outside this year. To be continued…!