Bourbaki-Panorama, Cultural center and panorama museum in Lucerne, Switzerland
The Bourbaki-Panorama in Lucerne is a museum centered around a massive circular painting depicting a significant military moment. This monumental artwork wraps around the interior walls of the rotunda and shows soldiers and their journey during wartime conflict.
The panorama was commissioned in 1876 by the Belgium Panorama Society and painted by Édouard Castres with ten assistants, among them Ferdinand Hodler. It was shown in Geneva from 1881, then bought by Benjamin Henneburg and moved to Lucerne in 1889, into a sixteen-sided building erected for a Sempach panorama by Louis Braun. Cut down twice, it now measures 9.8 metres in height.
The place honors Switzerland's role in sheltering those fleeing conflict and tells the stories of people who found refuge during wartime. Visitors experience how individuals experienced displacement and survival through displayed accounts and narratives from that era.
The viewing experience works best when you stand in the central area and walk slowly around to take in all the painting details from different angles. The museum provides information panels and audiovisual aids in various languages to help explain the artwork and its historical context.
The panorama's optical apparatus hangs above the painting: a canopy of fabric sails that spreads daylight across the scene. During the 2024 restoration, industrial climbers installed 1,600 square metres of new fabric weighing 200 kilograms, and the lighting was switched to LED spotlights.
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