Warsaw Fotoplastikon

Last updated
Warsaw Fotoplastikon
Plastikon-Warsaw3, 04032012.JPG
Audience at Warsaw Fotoplastikon, 2012
Warsaw Fotoplastikon
Address51 Jerusalem Avenue
Warsaw
Poland
Coordinates 52°13′44″N21°00′30″E / 52.228818°N 21.008456°E / 52.228818; 21.008456
Owner Museum of the Warsaw Uprising
DesignationPolish Register of Monuments
Type Stereoscopic
Capacity 24
Opened1905(?)
Website
http://fotoplastikonwarszawski.pl
Entrance sign Plastikon-Warsaw8, 04032012.JPG
Entrance sign
Courtyard location at the Hoserow Townhouse Apartment Plastikon-Warsaw2, 04032012.JPG
Courtyard location at the Hoserów Townhouse Apartment

The Warsaw Fotoplastikon is a stereoscopic theatre based on the Kaiserpanorama system of rotating stereoscopic images located in Warsaw, Poland. Operating at the same location since 1946, it is the oldest stereoscopic theatre in Europe still in business at its original location. Today it operates as a branch of the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising.

Contents

Description

The Warsaw Fotoplastikon has 24 fixed stereoscopic viewports. A visitor sits at a viewport around the circumference of the machine. Each picture, from a sequence of 48 three dimensional stereo images, appears for 15 seconds before moving on to the next. Above each viewport is a window which displays an illuminated card with a brief description of the scene below. The scenes are arranged by themes, such as a travelogue to distant lands or depictions of historic events. Recorded music related to the theme plays in the background. The Fotoplastikon uses a slightly modified version of the Kaiserpanorama peepshow system, differing in having 24 viewports instead of 25 in the Kaiserpanorama system. [1]

History

The Warsaw Fotoplastikon was constructed in 1901. It was first shown at a temporary location but moved to its permanent location in a small theatre at the back of an inner courtyard of Kamienica Hoserów (Hoser Townhouse Apartment Building) at 51 Jerusalem Avenue at 1946.

The Warsaw Fotoplastikon is a Polish adaptation of the Kaiserpanorama peepshow technology invented in the 1890s which was popular across Europe before the growth of motion picture theatres. The Fotoplastikon has been operated at the 51 Jerusalem Avenue location since it opened, owned and run by a series of families more or less continuously since 1905, making it the oldest active in situ peepshow in Europe. [2]

Soon after World War II, in October 1946, it was opened by the Krempa (or Krępa) family, who ran the theatre until 1973. In 1973 the new owner was Józef Chudy. After his death in 1980, the Fotoplastikon closed but was relaunched by Józef Chudy's grandson, Tomasz Chudy, in 1992. The Fotoplastikon was entered in the Polish Register of Monuments in 1987.

In 2008 Chudy leased the device, along with a collection of 3,000 slides, to the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising. In December 2012 the museum bought the equipment and has continued to operate it in the original location. [3] In September 2013 Fotoplastikon gained an additional room, next to its original site adjacent to the Hoserow courtyard.

Cultural influence

The Fotoplastikon served as a popular rendezvous point for many years, valued for its entertainment as well as providing a discrete location for couples to meet. In World War II, it was used by members of the Polish underground for clandestine meetings. The Kamienica Hoserów was one of the very few central Warsaw buildings not destroyed during World War II, allowing the Fotoplastikon to survive as a refuge from the horrors of the war and the hardship of the postwar communist era. It provided one of the few ways for Warsavians to view the outside world. The owners of the Fotoplastikon would loan their stereoscopic camera to Poles authorized to travel abroad and thus created new slide shows to supplement the Fotoplastikon's rare collection of original Kaiserpanorama historical travelogues. Imported jazz and pop records often served as the background music, providing an opportunity for Poles to enjoy western music during the communist era.

The Fotoplastikon has served as a period location for some Polish films, among them Polish Roads and This Honor. [4] The Fotoplastikon served as an important setting in the 2013 graphic novel The Property by Israeli author and illustrator Rutu Modan. Several special performances have been held using live musicians playing inside the Fotoplastikon to accompany the stereo images as well as special evening shows of period erotic images of scientific curiosities. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warsaw</span> Capital and largest city of Poland

Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at 1.86 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 3.27 million residents, which makes Warsaw the 7th most-populous city in the European Union. The city area measures 517 km2 (200 sq mi) and comprises 18 districts, while the metropolitan area covers 6,100 km2 (2,355 sq mi). Warsaw is an alpha global city, a major cultural, political and economic hub, and the country's seat of government. It is also capital of the Masovian Voivodeship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olsztyn</span> Place in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland

Olsztyn is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lublin</span> City in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland

Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339. Lublin is the largest Polish city east of the Vistula River, located 153 km (95 mi) to the southeast of Warsaw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Częstochowa</span> City in southern Poland

Częstochowa is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of the Lesser Poland region, not of Silesia, and before 1795, it belonged to the Kraków Voivodeship. Częstochowa is located in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. It is the largest economic, cultural and administrative hub in the northern part of the Silesian Voivodeship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Józef Ignacy Kraszewski</span> Polands most prolific novelist (1812–1887)

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski was a Polish novelist, journalist, historian, publisher, painter, and musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siedlce</span> Place in Masovian Voivodeship, Poland

Siedlce is a city in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants. Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship, previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). The city is situated between two small rivers, the Muchawka and the Helenka, and lies along the European route E30, around 90 kilometres (56 mi) east of Warsaw. It is the fourth largest city of the Voivodeship, and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Siedlce. Siedlce is a local educational, cultural and business center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warsaw Rising Museum</span> Polish museum about the Warsaw Uprising

The Warsaw Rising Museum, in the Wola district of Warsaw, Poland, is dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. The institution of the museum was established in 1983, but no construction work took place for many years. It opened on July 31, 2004, marking the 60th anniversary of the uprising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerusalem Avenue, Warsaw</span>

Jerusalem Avenue is one of the principal streets of the capital city of Warsaw in Poland. It runs through the City Centre along the East-West axis, linking the western borough of Wola with the bridge on the Vistula River and the borough of Praga on the other side of the river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saxon Garden</span> Public garden in Warsaw, Poland

The Saxon Garden is a 15.5–hectare public garden in central (Śródmieście) Warsaw, Poland, facing Piłsudski Square. It is the oldest public park in the city. Founded in the late 17th century, it was opened to the public in 1727 as one of the first publicly accessible parks in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Theatre, Warsaw</span> Theatre and opera complex in central Warsaw, Poland

The Grand Theatre in Warsaw, known in full as the Grand Theatre–National Opera, is a theatre and opera complex situated on the historic Theatre Square in central Warsaw, Poland. The Warsaw Grand Theatre is home to the Polish National Ballet and has a seating capacity of over 2,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanisław Żaryn</span> Polish architect (1913 – 1964)

Stanisław Żaryn was an architect, urbanist, historian and academic teacher who significantly contributed to the process of the reconstruction of historical Polish architecture after its destruction by the Germans during WWII. He was born in Warsaw to Eugenia and Franciszek Zaryn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montelupich Prison</span> Prison in Kraków, Poland

The Montelupich Prison, so called from the street in which it is located, the ulica Montelupich, is a historic prison in Kraków from early 20th century, which was used by the Gestapo in World War II. It is universally recognized as "one of the most terrible Nazi prisons in [occupied] Poland". The Gestapo took over the facility from the German Sicherheitspolizei at the end of March 1941. One of the Nazi officials responsible for overseeing the Montelupich Prison was Ludwig Hahn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ksawerów, Warsaw</span> Neighbourhood in Warsaw, Poland

Ksawerów is a neighbourhood, and an area of the City Information System, in the city of Warsaw, Poland, located within the district of Mokotów. The neighbourhood mostly consists of a residential area, consisting of multifamily residential apartment buildings, and single-family detached homes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julien Bryan</span> American photojournalist (1899–1974)

Julien Hequembourg Bryan was an American photographer, filmmaker, and documentarian who documented the daily life in Poland, Soviet Union, and Nazi Germany between 1935 and 1939, in the leadup to and early days of the Second World War. He was honored with a Decoration of Honor Meritorious for Polish Culture during his last visit in Poland (1974) for showing the truth about the Invasion of Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Poland</span> Overview of the architecture of Poland

The architecture of Poland includes modern and historical monuments of architectural and historical importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mannerist architecture and sculpture in Poland</span> Form of architecture popularized between 1550 and 1650 in Poland

Mannerist architecture and sculpture in Poland dominated between 1550 and 1650, when it was finally replaced with baroque. The style includes various mannerist traditions, which are closely related with ethnic and religious diversity of the country, as well as with its economic and political situation at that time. The mannerist complex of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska and mannerist City of Zamość are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Looting of Poland in World War II</span>

The looting of Polish cultural artifacts and industrial infrastructure during World War II was carried out by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union simultaneously after the invasion of Poland of 1939. A significant portion of Poland's cultural heritage, estimated at half a million art objects, was plundered by the occupying powers. Catalogued pieces are still occasionally recovered elsewhere in the world and returned to Poland.

Platige Image S.A. is a Polish-based company specializing in the creation of computer graphics, 3D animation, and digital special effects for various fields, including advertising, film, art, education, and entertainment. The studio employs a team of over 320 artists, comprising directors, art directors, graphic designers, and producers. The company has won approximately 280 awards and honors. Its animated shorts have garnered top prizes at SIGGRAPH four times and earned two British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards. Additionally, the studio has been nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Lions at the Venice Film Festival, as well as receiving an Oscar nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanisław Witkowski</span> Colonel of the Polish Army, engineer

Stanisław Witkowski CBE (Hon.), was an officer, engineer and military industry organiser in the Polish Army, Hononary Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krzysztof Jung</span>

Krzysztof Jung was a Polish painter, graphic artist, performer, teacher and creator of the conception of the Plastic Theatre.

References

Bibliography

52°13′44″N21°00′31″E / 52.2288°N 21.0085°E / 52.2288; 21.0085