Warsaw Fotoplastikon

The Fotoplastikon at Aleje Jerozolimskie 51 is one of the last working Kaiserpanoramas in the world - and the oldest still standing at its original location. Installed in 1905 by the Berlin inventor August Fuhrmann, it is a round wooden cabinet with 25 viewing seats arranged around a rotating image mechanism. Through stereoscopic lenses visitors see three-dimensional glass plates from across the world - exotic cities, natural wonders, Belle Epoque celebrities, but also harrowing scenes of war and ruin. Despite Warsaw's devastation in 1944 the device survived in its courtyard and still operates with original equipment. Programs change weekly by theme; the Fotoplastikon ranks among the most unassuming and moving places in the city.