Unique historical images: Sneek 100 years ago

The images from the 1920s and 1930s were made by several major film production companies of the time (Polygoon, Pathé, Orion), and were presumably shown in Sneker cinemas. They provide a fascinating and incisive look at several major festivities in the town of Sneek during the interwar period.

The oldest film dates from 1920. It is footage of the popular games on Queen's Day in Sneek on September 1. Also special are the images of the 'Grote Winkelfeesten' from 1922. A motley procession of cars and people pass through the town. They form a comical advertising parade of local stores and businesses; the public turned out en masse for it.
Furthermore, there are shots of a historical parade, a cattle auction, a visit of Queen Wilhelmina to a sailing competition, and various other sports competitions. For example, the promotion of v.v. Sneek in 1932 to the highest division in district Noord. These images even include a short sound clip of the speech of the chairman of the soccer club.

The digitized film footage will be presented on Friday afternoon, October 11, at CineSneek, the place where the Miedema family operated one of their cinemas. The release of the film is simultaneously the opening of the exhibition Kiek, dit maakt Sneek of the Fries Scheepvaart Museum and the Vereniging Historisch Sneek. This exhibition is about the activity in Sneek through the years, and makes grateful use of the newly surfaced images.

After the presentation, a compilation of the nitrate films will be screened by CineSneek on Oct. 16, 18 and 20 at 3 p.m. At those screenings, Sneker historian Alice Booij will be present as 'explicateur'. Tickets are on sale at the cinema box office and online. After the presentation and the first screenings in CineSneek, all films will be available for online viewing on the website and the YouTube channel of the Fries Film & Audio Archive.