Swedish Panoptikon, Wax museum in Stockholm, Sweden
The Swedish Panoptikon was a wax museum located at Kungsträdgårdsgatan 18 with around seventy handcrafted figures arranged across three floors and a basement. The displays showed various scenes from Swedish royal history and notable cultural personalities in detailed settings.
The museum opened in 1889 founded by Richard Wawrinsky, Thor Thorén, and Arvid Gumælius as a popular attraction in Stockholm. Financial struggles eventually led to its closure in 1924, after which the wax figures were sold at auction.
The museum displayed Swedish royalty and prominent cultural figures in elaborate period costumes that were made with the same precision as the wax sculptures. Visitors could observe how these figures represented important personalities from Swedish society and artistic life.
The museum was located in a central Stockholm address at Kungsträdgårdsgatan, making it easy to find and access. Visitors needed several hours to explore all the floors and observe the detailed scenes throughout the building.
The basement housed a collection of death masks and criminal figures that stood in sharp contrast to the royal displays on the upper floors. This juxtaposition created a museum experience that moved beyond typical royal entertainment to offer visitors a more complex view of human representation.
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