Panorama Raclawicka

The rotunda housing the PANORAMA RACLAWICKA is one of the few places in the world where visitors can see a relic of the 19th century mass culture - a huge, 120m x 15m painting in the shape of a revolving hyperboloid (spool) commemorating the battle of Raclawice. Fought on 4th April 1794, the battle was an overwhelming victory over the Russian army by the Insurrection troops commanded by Tadeusz Kosciuszko. The painting of the PANORAMA took place in Lvov and lasted from August 1893 till May 1894. The painters were Jan Styka and Wojciech Kossak, assisted by other artists. The PANORAMA was intended to add splendour to the National Exhibition in Lvov. From 1894 till 1944 the painting was exhibited inside the town's Stryjski Park Rotunda. In 1946 it was moved to Wroclaw. Over the years three Public Committees had lobbied for the Restoration of the PANORAMA RACLAWICKA lobbied for the public showing of the painting. In 1985, after many years of restoration work, the PANORAMA was finally placed in a purpose-built Rotunda. The construction project lasted from 1967 to 1983. The PANORAMA is shown together with mock-ups of the battlefield and figures of soldiers wearing uniforms dating from the Kosciuszko Insurrection. Unlike with most panoramas displayed in Europe, modern systems allow visitors to view the Wroclaw painting all year round, morning to evening, and to listen to a commentary in one of six languages. The "Panorama Raclawicka" is a member of the Congress of European Panoramas, a forum which promotes panoramic paintings and towns which have them.

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