Although you might think these are "cobblestones" actually when the stones are regularly shaped they are known as quarried granite setts. Cobblestones are naturally shaped stones, usually rounded and are designed for horses to get a good grip when pulling a load. Both cobblestones and setts have been used since ancient times. Streets paved with stones are still used in some parts of the eastern United States but most of them have been paved over with asphalt. I have seen streets being paved with setts and I would characterize the process as labor-intensive. These particular setts were found in Germany. Here are some observations about setts from Wikipedia.
A sett, also known as a block, Belgian block or sampietrini, is a broadly rectangular quarried stone used in paving roads and walkways. Formerly in widespread use, particularly on steeper streets because setts provided horses' hooves with better grip than a smooth surface, they are now encountered rather as decorative stone paving in landscape architecture. Setts are often referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct from a cobblestone in that it is quarried or worked to a regular shape, whereas the latter is generally a small, naturally-rounded rock. Setts are usually made of granite.
Although cheaper and less labor-intensive, asphalt streets are less permanent and harder to maintain than setts or cobblestones.
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