pastvu

Pastvu is an online archive and catalog of historical photographs and postcards. It provides a geolocated, map-based interface that lets users explore visual depictions of places and events across time. The collection emphasizes urban development, architecture, everyday life, and public events.

Key features include an interactive map with location pins, timeline controls, and search by keywords, city, country, or era. Users can contribute images and metadata, with attribution to source archives, photographers, or collectors. The site aggregates content from libraries, museums, and private collections and often showcases high-resolution scans.

Licensing varies by item; many images are public domain or released under Creative Commons licenses, while others are provided under institution-specific terms. Each item typically lists date, location, photographer, and rights information. The platform focuses on providing geographic context to historical imagery, enabling exploration of change over time through place.

Pastvu originated in the early 2010s as a collaborative project to create a geo-referenced visual record of places. It has grown to include images from dozens of countries and aims to facilitate serendipitous discovery of history through maps and timelines. The site is used by researchers, educators, journalists, and history enthusiasts to discover visual material tied to specific locations.

In addition to individual submissions, Pastvu often collaborates with cultural institutions to expand its coverage, making it a resource for those seeking geographically contextualized history.