An intriguing exhibition, photographically capturing changes to buildings and land use before and after Germany’s reunification, is on display at the German-Maltese Circle in Merchants Street, Valletta.

Stefan Koppelkamm, a German photographer, was travelling around East Germany in the period between the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and Germany’s reunification in October 1990.

He decided to photograph buildings as they lay during that period, returning to the exact same spots between 10 and 12 years later and capturing them in exactly the same manner.

The aim was to depict what changed in the early years of reunification, which took place 20 years ago this month.

What he found was that many pre-war buildings had been majestically restored, while others had been replaced by faceless, modern creations. Fences and restrictive barriers of any kind, along with watchtowers, are nowhere to be seen after once standing ominously, holding the region’s people in communism’s iron grip.

Mr Koppelkamm’s works are on display until Friday and are accompanied by short commentaries containing additional information about the buildings depicted, drawing attention to particular details.