Drozdow Family Archive

The author of the film is Ewa Drozdow, who filmed travels and important events in her family life with a Quarz camera, bought in a photo shop on ul. Piotrkowska in Łódź. Ewa, who works as a textile engineer, in her free time edited her films, diversifying them with plastic boards that she created from cardboard and string. 

The film was made during Ewa’s trip with her parents, Zofia and Jerzy, to Vienna in 1992. Shots from the bus of passed information boards, standing by the road. Crossing the bridge over the Danube, panorama of Bratislava, shots of the city visible on the other side of the river. Close-ups of the characteristic bridge of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) and the Bratislava Castle towering over the city. Shots of passing hills and streets while passing through the city. The participants of the tour stand in front of the church of St. Josef on Kahlenberg – a hill from which, in 1683, John III Sobieski commanded the victorious battle of Vienna with the Turks. Close-ups of the façade and a plaque with the image of the king commemorating the 300th anniversary of the battle of Vienna. Panorama of the city. Zofia and Jerzy, turned towards the camera, stand in front of the entrance to a restaurant. The main gate of Schönbrunn Palace, the square in front of the palace, the fountain. Zofia walks towards the palace, turns around and talks to her daughter, who films her. The married couple stands in front of the palace, holding hands. Close-ups of the façade of the palace. Zofia and Jerzy stand on the square in front of the palace and wave to the camera. They sightsee the palace garden, greenhouses and gloriettes. Zofia and Jerzy walk along a pergola overgrown with roses. Sightseeing the city. Street with representative buildings, monuments, Parliament, opera, St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Zofia sits on the fountain and splashes water on Jerzy. The Hofburg Palace, its garden, a flowerbed with colorful flowers arranged in a treble clef at the Mozart monument. The monument to Emperor Francis II of Austria against the background of the Amalienburg Palace, Michael’s Gate. Close-ups of the façade of the Hofburg Palace from the side of In der Burg square. Shots of the equestrian statue of Emperor Joseph II. Shots of the Votivkirche, its Gothic façade, its entrance doors, stained glass windows inside the temple. Busy shopping street Kärntnerstraße, a colorful mosaic on the façade of one of the tenement houses. Shots of busy Viennese streets and its city dwellers, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, St. Rupert’s Church, square with a monument on a column. A visit to the City Park (Stadtpark). Ewa’s parents pose against the background of monuments to famous composers – Franz Schubert, Johann Strauss, Franz Lehár. A bridge over the Danube, a cruise ship moored to the bank, the amusement park Wiener Prater. Panorama of the city shot from Vienna’s big wheel (Wiener Reisenrad), shots from inside the carousel gondola. 

(AT)