Panoptikum Hamburg, Wax museum on Reeperbahn, Hamburg, Germany
Panoptikum Hamburg is a wax museum on the Reeperbahn with over 120 handcrafted figures displayed throughout different rooms. The exhibition presents life-size people in recreated scenes and settings that portray their role or profession.
Friedrich Hermann Faerber founded Germany's first wax museum in 1879 on Spielbudenplatz in St. Pauli. The collection expanded over the decades, drawing visitors from around the world to witness lifelike reproductions of famous people.
The figures display people from film, music, sports, and politics, showing who captures public interest at different times. You can observe how tastes and what matters to visitors have shifted over the years.
Access is straightforward from the busy Reeperbahn, a central location in the red light district. The museum is easy to find and works well as a stop while exploring the neighborhood.
Creating each figure involves a handcrafted process beginning with precise measurements and observations of the real person. This care allows subtle features like expression and posture to look so natural that many visitors are surprised when they realize a figure doesn't speak or move.
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