TheKaiserpanorama (orKaiser-Panorama) is a form ofstereoscopic entertainment medium used chiefly in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and is considered aprecursor to film. It was invented by August Fuhrmann (1844–1925), and patented by him inc.1890. It consisted of a number of viewing stations from which people would peer through a pair of lenses to view a number of rotatingstereoscopic glass slides. By 1910 Fuhrmann is said to have controlled exhibitions in over 250 branches acrossEurope, and to have held up to 100,000 slides in his central archive.
A kaiserpanorama would normally have around 25 wooden stations, each with a pair of viewing lenses. Inside the device there would be a rotating mechanism showing numerousstereoscopic images on rear-illuminated glass, giving a 3D effect.
Various modern reconstructions, as well as a few authentic remaining kaiserpanoramas, exist in theMunich Stadtmuseum,Wels,German Historical Museum, theMärkisches Museum (Berlin),Neugersdorf,Pioneer Settlement (Swan Hill, Australia), Muzeum Kinematografii (Łódź, Poland),Deutsches Technikmuseum (Berlin), the Düsseldorf Film Museum, theTeylers Museum (Haarlem, Holland) and theFotomuseum Antwerp. Another example is theWarsaw Fotoplastikon,[1][2] built in 1905, which, despite very similar design, is not under the name kaiserpanorama. During the German occupation, it was used by thePolish resistance as a meeting point.There was a dismantled kaiserpanorama inSnibston Discovery Museum inCoalville,Leicestershire, UK. The museum is closed, and the panorama is now in storage and under the care ofLeicester City Council.[citation needed]
The museum of the occupation at theOskar Schindler's Enamel Factory in Kraków, Poland, uses a fotoplastikon to show historical pictures.[citation needed]
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