| The centrepiece of the Panorama Museum is the panoramic painting of Salzburg by Johann Michael Sattler. It is 125 m2 in size and has a circumference of 26 m. You can get a closer look at the details using the telescope on the visitors' platform.
Back in the 19th century, when tourism started to develop all over the Austrian Alps through improved mobility and a growing middle class / aristocracy, panorama paintings of cities or mountain ranges became fashionable. Several of these paintings were made in different parts of Austria, including one in Salzburg.
This painting depicts the city and its surroundings in great detail and very realistically. Maybe the panorama painting helped to show tourists what Salzburg would look like if it didn′t rain. Maybe it was simply a curious item that people back then found just as unusual as today. Either way, the Salzburg panorama painting is a rather iconic thing for the city even now. A similar painting can be found in Innsbruck, but otherwise, the "Sattler Panorama" is quite unique.
A few years ago, it was in a very bad shape. Partly with the aid of private donors, the Sattler Panorama was renovated and restored into its original glory. The Panoramamuseum Salzburg was founded as a branch of the Salzburg Museum. The enormous panorama painting is 26 metres wide and 130 square metres large. It was made by Hubert Sattler, an Austrian painter who lived from 1786 to 1847. There are watch glasses installed that allow visitors to view the many tiny details from a distance.
Modern upgrades such as projections and animations demonstrate how much the city has changed since the panorama was painted. Visitors can also navigate through the panorama painting on screens and obtain further information in individual buildings or attractions. If this is still not enough to stoke you, the Panoramamuseum also includes other significant works by Sattler - a star among the landscape painters of the early 19th century. The Panoramamuseum can be found at the Neue Residenz, essentially in the backyard of the main town museum. There are combined tickets available. |