BOURBAKI PANORAMA
Lucerne Tourist Attraction in Since 1889
The Bourbaki
Panorama has been a family tourist attraction in Lucerne
Switzerland for 120 years. The Franco-Prussian War was fought between
July of 1870 to February 1871, a short but brutal conflict which
ended
with
the defeat
of the French Army in the snowy slopes of the French Jura mountains at
the edge of Switzerland. The result was the end of the French empire
of Napoleon III and the beginning of a united German empire under Kaiser
Wilhelm I of Prussia. The French eastern army under the command of General
Charles Denis Bourbaki surrendered to the Germans and 87,000 French soldiers
were marched into Switzerland where they were held prisoner by the sympathetic
Swiss, tended by the Red Cross in the spirit of neutrality. A Swiss artist,
Edouard Castres who had studied at the Beaux Arts School in Paris, had
served as a volunteer with the Red Cross in the war, documenting the
hardships of the bitter winter of 1871.
By
the 1880’s,
a time of the expanding industrial revolution of early advancing technologies,
a new form of entertainment had grabbed
the fascination of the public - the Panorama. Various forms of steriopticons,
camera obscura, and dioramas drew crowds of fascinated adults and kids
at temporary exhibitions and fairs. An entrepreneur Benjamin Henneberg
commissioned Castres to create a giant panoramic painting of the internment
of the Bourbaki army for display in Geneva. In 1885, a planned panorama
exhibit 
of
its own failed to materialize in Lucerne and the 360 degree diorama was
moved to a permanent rotunda exhibit hall
completed in 1889, in the
heart of city of Lucerne, near the city’s iconic lion sculpture
and its other 19th century tourist attraction, the Glacier Garden. The
building was improved over time, a rotating parking platform in the underground
garage was an innovation in 1925 and a new modern structure opened in
2000 with improvements in the exhibition presentation.
The core of the Bourbaki Panorama exhibit is still the panoramic painting
taking up two levels of view in the upstairs rotunda, with 21 costumed
war weary figures added to faux terrain leading up to the 10 meter high
and 110 meter around circular painting to complete a 3D effect, with
added subtle sound effects to complete the experience. Look of the bearded
face of young assistant artist, Ferdinand Hodler, who used himself as
a model of one of the soldiers leading a contingent of Swiss reinforcements
in the painting. Small exhibit spaces provide a look at the stereoscopic
peepholes of the age, models of revolving chamber panoramic stages and
historical fact displays of the events of the Franco-Prussian War and
the Bourbaki Army. Underneath the panorama hall is a modern family friendly
restaurant and bar, a gift shop and entrance to a multi-screen movie
theater complex next door. While not an e-ticket ride, the Bourbaki Panorama
is one of the few surviving examples of its kind left in the world from
the wonders exhibits of 1800s and worth a visit in Lucerne for a look
at the ravages of war and the mystery and fascination of the historic
tourist attractions of an earlier age.
Visiting Bourbaki Panorama
The Bourbaki Panorama is open daily 9am to 6pm from April to October and 10am to 5 pm November to March. Regular admission
is 12 CHF for adults and 10 CHF for Students. Children under 6 are free.
A family ticket
is available
and a Lion Pass for visiting
both the Bourbaki Panorama and the nearby Glacier Garden (see Glacier
Garden Museum)
is 22 CHF and 18 CHF respectively. If you’re
traveling Switzerland with a Swiss Rail pass, entrance to the museum
is free (see Swiss
Rail Pass). A tasting of the
19th Century fad drink Absinthe, is also available
in the restaurant, but not exactly a drink for the kids. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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Bourbaki Panorama
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SEE ALSO:
BEYER
CLOCK & WATCH MUSEUM ZURICH
SHERLOCK
HOLMES MUSEUM - MEIRINGEN
