Symbolising an entire industrial region: Heidersberger’s photography “Kraftwerk der Volkswagen AG” turns 50

In his role as Head of Heritage Communications at Volkswagen AG, Dieter Landenberger explains the meaning of the image for Volkswagen: “The power plant represents much more than an industrial building; it is a landmark in Wolfsburg and a symbol for change, as we are going to operate the power plant in a very sustainable way in the future.”

Also marking the jubilee on November 4, Volkswagen Academy trainees installed a large-size metal frame on the actual position from where Heidersberger took the original image (jetty next to the Premium Clubhouse), offering visitors the chance to recall the perspective of the artist.

Heiderberger’s photography work is subject of international exhibitions as well as presentations of Wolfsburg’s rather young history. It is the power plant with its four signature towers that makes Volkswagen’s production site widely recognizable, and it is Heiderberger’s angle that further sharpens this impact for the viewer.

Born in 1906 at Ingolstadt, Heinrich Heidersberger spent his childhood partly in Denmark. He started to study architecture in Graz but moved to Paris in 1928, where he focused his work entirely on photography. After World War II, Heidersberger became one of the leading architectural photographers in Germany, working in Salzgitter and Braunschweig before settling in Wolfsburg, where he had worked and lived until he died in 2006. Comprising of more than 130,000 images, Heidersberger’s overall body of work is centered around architecture, reportage, industry and advertising, but also includes algorithmic experiments. Since 2002, the Heidersberger Institute in Wolfsburg has been working on scientific evaluations and publications of the artist’s work.