GHOST TOWNS

As the extent of the dangers of the pandemic became clear, most of the world’s urban spaces, including our most iconic cities, were transformed almost overnight. With strict lockdown measures suddenly being imposed, regular hives of activity soon resembled abandoned ghost towns as urban dwellers heeded official advice and stayed behind closed doors as the community banded together by keeping apart. 

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WUERSTELSTAND WITHOUT SAUSAGES

CHRISTIAN BRUNA

Until the outbreak of the Coronavirus, tourists and Viennese people used to queue up to get a sausage at a traditional Wuerstelstand (sausage stand). Many of the sausages stands used to be open until the morning hours and were one of the few places that offered warm food at this time of the night. The sausage originated during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, around 1870, to secure jobs for war veterans. Until the 1960s, they had to be mobile sales stands, but fixed Wuerstelstaende has become a permanent part of Vienna’s architectural landscape and social life. 

VENICE UNDER LOCKDOWN

FABIO MUZZI

Although the merchants of Venice have suffered from the lack of tourist visitors, the piazzas and canals have retained or even enhanced their beauty. The lack of the usual human activity has meant that wildlife has returned to the city, with dolphins even spotted swimming in the bay and the canals’ waters clearer and more pristine than they have been in decades.

DESERTED AREAS IN SWITZERLAND

LAURENT GILLIERON

Switzerland was able to keep a lid on the outbreak within its borders, with lockdown measures ensuring that the spread was contained to manageable levels. Much of that success was due to the swift and decisive action taken by authorities to lock its cities down for much of March and April.  Here, the eerie stillness of Switzerland’s deserted urban spaces is captured from above