Under the influence of artists such as Christian Zacho and Vilhelm Kyhn, Louis Jensen established himself in the 1880s as an extremely successful landscape painter, finding his motifs mainly during his extensive travels in Europe, notably Holland and Germany, but also in Italy, as well as in Finland and Russia.

One of his favorite motifs were architectural depictions of old quarters, especially in northern Germany, such as those in Lübeck or, in the present painting, Rostock. Due to the great popularity of his depictions, many of his paintings were later reproduced as prints.