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All Poland Warsaw Warsaw Fotoplastikon

Warsaw Fotoplastikon

A 20th-century picture show in 3-D.

Warsaw, Poland

Added By
Joshua Foer
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  matishadow / Atlas Obscura User
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
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About

At the turn of the 20th century, in the moment just before the birth of cinema, there was the fotoplastikon. Based on the enormous success of home stereoscopic viewers in the Victorian era, the fotoplastikon was Poland's first 3-D theater, a kind of scaled up view-master. Viewers sat around a large cylinder looking through eyepieces, while stereoscopic slides scrolled past and music played in the background.

For the people of Warsaw, however, the fotoplastikon was more than just a frivolous amusement. Built in 1905, the fotoplastikon survived both the Nazi invasion and Soviet control. It served as a reminder of better times, and of other places where things were different. It was also a meeting place for dissidents and revolutionaries, where jazz music could be heard and pictures of western life could be peeked at. In the words of a Polish Poet Tadeusz Chudy:

To the accompaniment of music the pictures roll on, All this is for you, dear viewer, The giant drum turns slowly Like the cosmos, back to the world of the past.

Today the fotoplastikon is still open, run by the grandson of the original owner, and still a popular meeting place in Warsaw.

Related Tags

Optical Oddities Architectural Oddities Architecture

Know Before You Go

It's open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 pm. There's free entry on Thursday.

Community Contributors

Added By

Josh

Edited By

hrnick, CoolCrab, klaudiagrabowska, dmjezewska...

  • hrnick
  • CoolCrab
  • klaudiagrabowska
  • dmjezewska
  • matishadow

Published

November 26, 2008

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  • http://fotoplastikonwarszawski.pl/#top
Warsaw Fotoplastikon
51 Aleje Jerozolimskie
Warsaw, 00-697
Poland
52.228897, 21.008498
Visit Website
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Nearby Places

National Museum of Technology in Warsaw

Warsaw, Poland

miles away

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miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Warsaw

Warsaw

Poland

Places 41
Stories 2

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National Museum of Technology in Warsaw

Warsaw, Poland

miles away

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Czar PRL: Life Under Communism Museum

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miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Warsaw

Warsaw

Poland

Places 41
Stories 2

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