Description of the attraction
The Racławice Panorama is a painting depicting the Battle of Racławice. This is one of the first battles of the Polish national liberation uprising of Kosciuszko against the Russian troops of General Tormasov, which took place on April 4, 1794.
In 1893, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the battle, the Lviv City Council ordered the Racławice Panorama, which was to become the main attraction at the opening of the General National Exhibition in Lviv in 1894. At that time in Europe, panoramas on historical and religious themes were in particular fashion. The invited artists were Jan Styk and Wojciech Kossak, who worked on the painting for almost a year. The canvas turned out to be huge: 114 meters long, 15 meters high. The painting was painted on canvas brought from Belgium: fourteen pieces of 15 meters long, which were sewn together and stretched on special scaffolding brought from Vienna. The painting took 750 kg of paint.
The panorama was exhibited in a purpose-built rotunda building on June 5, 1894.
During the Second World War, the panorama was damaged during the bombing of Lviv. After the war, thanks to the efforts of the Polish authorities, the painting was sent to Wroclaw, where it was kept in a roll at the National Museum for a long time.
For many years, the painting did not dare to restore due to political relations in the Soviet era. The Polish authorities feared the authorities' reaction to the panorama showing the victory over the Russian troops. Construction of a suitable building began only in 1980. 25 craftsmen worked on the restoration of the canvas. The grand opening of the panorama took place on June 14, 1985. Currently, the Racławice Panorama has been visited by over 10 million people.
