The fishermen of Bergheim
A series of 16 photographs
From the exhibition catalogue June 2012:
"The fishermen of Troisdorf-Bergheim have a long history. About 1,025 years ago, they were granted the right to fish the Sieg and the right bank of the Rhine between Beuel and Mondorf by Abbess Adelheid of Vilich. The fishermen's brotherhood, which developed over the course of the Middle Ages, was a guild-like community of life, faith and work. A total of 14 families or "tribes" belonged to the Bergheim fishermen. Nine of these families are still represented in the brotherhood today.
In 2012, the oldest fishermen's brotherhood in Germany still holds the fishing rights on the Rhine and Sieg and is very much alive with just under 400 members. Its history is a piece of Rhenish social and everyday history.
Photographer Frank Hoffmann has portrayed some of the many members of the fishing fraternity. His well-crafted black and white photographs are contemporary snapshots. They illustrate the photographer's perspective on the faces of people whose families have shaped the social and economic life of the Siegmündung region since the Middle Ages. ... "
The catalogue is available for purchase in the Fisheries Museum shop.
