What did Germany look like back before the two World Wars? Extremely pretty, as the new photobook “Germany Around 1900” will show you. Using the photochromation technique to bring out the color in black and white photographs, the pictures show the bourgeois splendor of the turn of the century. No cars, fairytale towns, castles and resorts on the sea.

The book has 800 pictures in all. It’s the work of museum curator and author Karin Lelonek, edited by documentarian and photo researcher Sabine Arqué, as well designer, collector, and vintage photo collector Mark Walter. As the publisher Taschen describes it, the book is a “fascinating and nostalgic panorama of a long lost epoch before the ravages of time and history set in.” More info: taschen.com | amazon | facebook | twitter | instagram (h/t: mentalfloss)

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Schwerin grand-ducal palace, Mecklenburg

Wernigerode Town Hall

Castle of Sigmaringen

The coast around Westerland

Bedroom, Neuschwanstein Castle, south of Munich

Heinstein Castle near Trechtingshausen / Butchers’ Guild Hall, Hildesheim

Bastei Bridge

Frederick Bridge and Berlin’s cathedral

Traditional German kitchen