Last month in Wrocław, Poland's third-largest city, I stepped onto a battlefield. Not a real one, of course, but a diorama - or rather a panorama.

The Racławice Panorama is a 15 × 114 metre painting, which depicts an 18th-century Polish uprising against Russian forces. It is displayed 'in the round' as a 360-degree immersive experience.

The artwork was conceived by artist Jan Styka, who lived in Lviv (then Lwów, and previously Lemberg). He collaborated with battle-painter Wojciech Kossak and several other artists to create the scene.

The panorama painting was unveiled in 1894, using specially woven canvas from Brussels and an iron structure built in Vienna. It took about 9 months to make, which is incredible considering the level of detail.

In the panorama, you see all sorts of details from the battle - meticulous depictions of soldiers, their uniforms, their horses, as well as people caught up in the fighting. Even though it's actually just a flat surface, the panorama has a 3D quality that makes you feel you are in the painting, on the battlefield - I’m not sure the pictures here do justice to the photo-realistic quality you see in person. Visitors stay in the scene for around 30 minutes with an audio guide explaining different aspects of the combat, bringing it to life in an interesting way.

Thank you for reading + until next time,