12 side-by-side portraits of people over 100 with their younger selves

People who live 100 years or more, they are actually a unique classification and rarity. Not only have you lived a very long life, but you are also known by the nickname, Centenarians.

They also often people ask them the secret to living longer and others, want to know what you have learned over your life. Because those people have not changed much over time, so as we say, age is just a number. That is it.

Jan Langer (Czech photographer) exposed a series of portraits that she is calling, Faces of Century. She is doing that with a beautiful strategy in which, takes each topic of the portraits and puts them side-by-side to a younger portrait of the same person — she wants us to see them not just as they are now, but how they have not changed over time. That is the key to the series, and she did a wonderful job of it.

These are the rare faces of people who have lived through two world wars, a cavalcade of regimes, and the rush of advancements in modern life. These photos and the stories of the lives lived by the people in them, show not only the beauty of aging but how even as we age, we still remain essentially ourselves.

These are the rare faces of people who have lived through two world wars, it’s not only the faces, it is the stories behind them. These photos show not only the beauty of aging but how even as they age, they’re not so different, and we still remain essentially ourselves.

1. Anna Vašinová, at age 22 and 102

photo by Jan Langer

Vašinová lost her husband when he was taken away by the Nazis. She hopes that she can somehow reunite with him someday.

2. Ludvík Chybík, at age 20 and 102

photo by Jan Langer

He used to deliver the mail and says he will never forget the route he worked every day.

3. Antonín Kovář, at age 25 and 102

photo by Jan Langer

This man’s daughter visits him on a daily basis. He was a musician and he wishes to play the clarinet once more.

4. Antonín Baldrman, at age 17 and 101

photo by Jan Langer

He was at one time a clerk and now he reads the newspaper regularly and keeps up with current events.

5. Marie Burešová, at age 23 and 101

photo by Jan Langer

She talks a lot to her family. She enjoys speaking with them and wishes they can all reunite.

6. Stanislav Spáčil, at age 17 and 102

photo by Jan Langer

He was an electrical engineer throughout his life. He doesn’t want to start thinking about the past.

7. Vincenc Jetelina, at age 30 and 105

photo by Jan Langer

He spent in prison for eight years after World War II. He just wants to live the rest of his life in peace

8. Anna Pochobradská, at age 30 and 100

photo by Jan Langer

She was a farmer, but now she lives a quiet life. She enjoys being visited by her daughter every weekend.

9. Prokop Vejdělek, at age 22 and 101

photo by Jan Langer

He was a metallurgical engineer who will never forget the taste of warm fresh goats milk.

10. Vlasta Čížková, at age 23 and 101

photo by Jan Langer

She cooked at the airport dining room in a small village of Vodochody. She will never forget reciting her own poetry at wedding ceremonies.

11. Bedřiška Köhlerová, at age 26 and 103

photo by Jan Langer

This woman was originally in Merano, Italy. She hopes that she can to visit Italy one more time.

12. Ludmila Vysloužilová, at age 23 and 101

photo by Jan Langer

She stays active every day by chopping wood, shoveling snow, and doing work around her house.

“One should live every single moment according to their best knowledge and conscience because one day we will see clearly what has a real value,” Langer says.