My 1871. Traces, Fates, Stories

The Bourbaki Panorama’s message of peace remains undisputedly relevant to this day. The immense circular painiting traces personal fates and political events and grants multi-faceted insights into the history of everyday life, art, culture, and the media. It tells hundreds of stories about the internment of the Bourbaki Army in 1871 and inspires introspection – about the past as well as the present.

Experience the events of the internment firsthand in the current in-depth exhibition “My 1871. Traces, Fates, Stories”, tracing the footsteps of the young villager Joséphine, the soldier’s horse Feuille as well as the Red Cross helper, and eventual painter of the circular painting, Edouard Castres. Get hands-on at interactive stations and get a tangible idea of the events with the help of original memorabilia and the impressive panoramic film. Set out and follow your path.

Crossing Boundaries. Curiosity, Hope, Courage

When was the last time you crossed a boundary? Do you know your own limits? When have they been crossed? Situations involving boundaries, borders and limits are commonplace. They are ambivalent–both a challenge and an opportunity, both danger and enrichment. Beyond the visual narration of boundary and border crossings, the Bourbaki Panorama is also expanding the boundaries of perception as a medium, creating the optical illusion of a boundless expanse.

To commemorate the crossing of the border by the French Bourbaki Army in the winter of 1871, the Bourbaki Panorama Museum invites you on a voyage of discovery in the world of boundaries, borders and limits: Inspired by the monumental circular painting, the museum offers encounters with and reflections on diverse, contemporary borderlines. Get to know stories about boundaries in the special exhibition, test your own limits and discover your potential for crossing them!

Special exhibition: Visual Wonders. Trickery, Deception & Illusion

Humans have been fascinated by optical illusions for hundreds of years. Garden-shed inventors dupe their audience with trickery and deception and use their amazing viewing devices to astonish their onlookers, make them laugh and send shivers down their spine. Inventions such as the peep box, praxinoscope and flip-book were groundbreaking stages in the process of developing static images into moving images.

From the 1780s, panoramas set a milestone in the creation of illusionary worlds — the first mass media of their time. In today’s digital world, such visual wonders and optical illusions have lost none of their magic — virtual reality is not a modern invention.

Panorama laboratory

This unique exhibition space also serves as a room for special exhibitions and as a media laboratory. It has a projection surface of more than 180 degrees, which can be projected with images and sound using the latest projection technology with 8 high-performance LED beamers.