When I see something out of the ordinary my curiosity kicks in ...
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| A section of the painting showing the disarmament of the soldiers. P/C Wikimedia |
It's not every day you walk past a hexadecagon (16 sides) building. Especially one that's encased within a fairly square modernist square building.  |
| P/C Dan--captured from Google Maps satellite view |
As mentioned, I went inside and found a completely remarkable painting of an important event in Swiss history--the internment of the French Armée de l'Est in neutral Switzerland at the end of the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War.
It really is remarkable. And led to our Challenges for this week:
1. What is this kind of art installation called?
I just did a simple Search-by-Image (with the pic above) and found the Wikipedia page about the Bourbaki Panorama in Lucerne. On that page I learned that:
The Bourbaki Panorama is a circular panoramic painting depicting the internment of the French Armée de l'Est in neutral Switzerland at the end of the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War. The army, led by General Charles-Denis Bourbaki, had been defeated in the field while attempting to raise the Siege of Belfort and fled to Switzerland in the aftermath. The Swiss admitted the French soldiers, and local villagers and the Swiss Red Cross provided aid.
The Bourbaki Panorama is more than just a painting; it is a powerful denunciation of war and a testament to the first humanitarian actions of the Red Cross. Originally spanning 1500 m², the preserved 1000 m² of the painting vividly depict the harsh realities of war and the compassionate response of the Red Cross. This makes it a significant historical and humanitarian site for visitors to explore.
I happened to notice at the bottom of the Wikipedia page. When you're doing research in a somewhat-unknown area, be sure to check down at the bottom of the page. That's where you'll find the Categories section for the article.
Each of these links is to another Wikipedia page that is a category for the topic. In this case, the Bourbaki Panorama page is referred to by the pages "1877 paintings" and "Museums in Lucerne" "Cycloramas" ... etc.
All of those categories make sense. But you might not recognize the term "cyclorama" (I didn't). It's worth clicking through to the Cyclorama page where you will learn that it is "A cyclorama is a panoramic image on the inside of a cylindrical platform, designed to give viewers standing in the middle of the cylinder a 360° view."
This is an interesting distinction from a panorama, which is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space. My phone camera can take "panoramas" and you've probably seen other 180 degree images that are also called "panoramas."
But this kind of art installation is specifically a cyclorama, a panorama that you can walk in.
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| A view from inside the Bourbaki cyclorama, with a railing and seating for longer contemplation. |
2. Are there any of these giant 360-degree paintings still in use somewhere in the US? (If so, where? Any in the eastern US still around?)
Now that we know that this is cyclorama, it's an easy search to find other cycloramas. (A big list is at the Cyclorama Wikipedia page.)
I thought that searching for a cyclorama near me would be as easy as opening Google Maps and doing [cycloramas near me] -- but I was surprised. I REALLY didn't work. What I got was a bunch of photography studios and custom imaging places.
Just out of curiosity, I clicked through to one of them and learned something fascinating: A ‘Cyc Wall’ is an abbreviated term for “cyclorama,” also referred to as a cyclorama wall or cyc wall. It’s essentially a curved wall used as a photo or video background to suggest unlimited space.
All of the places shown by the query offered "cyc wall" services, either as a photographic service or as a display format. (Yes, you can hire one of these companies to set up a "cyc wall" for you or rent one to you.)
But that wasn't really what I meant. So I did a regular Google query:
[cyclorama building near me]
and learned that there IS a cyclorama in Los Angeles--the Velaslavasay Panorama (with its own Wikipedia page). (I hope to visit it in late October. If I make it, I'll let you know.) Oddly, the Velaslavasay cyclorama is NOT listed in the cyclorama categories Wikipedia page. Imagine that: someone is wrong on the internet. Inevitable XKCD reference.
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| The Velaslavasay Panorama (cyclorama) at 1122 W 24th Street, Los Angeles, CA |
3. How many of these things have survived from the 19th century into modern times? (And... is there one you can visit near me?)
Of course, the query:
[ cyclorama building in the US ]
gives several hits, including several in the eastern US. Most famous is the Gettysburg cyclorama by the French artist Paul Philippoteaux depicting Pickett's Charge, the climactic Confederate attack on the Union forces during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. (How to visit the Gettysburg cyclorama.)
Accepting that the Wikipedia entry is incomplete, it's easy to see that while we're no longer in the age-of-cycloramas, a fair number still exist and can be visited. Many of these are from the 19th century--but you have to check each one to determine its date of origin.
You can do the same trick to find a cyclorama near you.
4. What was the effect of this internment on the development of Switzerland? Why was it such an important event?
In the Wikipedia article it mentions that "...the reception and distribution of nearly 90,000 exhausted men internment across almost the whole of Switzerland was the first major humanitarian action of the very young Red Cross (founded in 1863), and was part of Switzerland's policy of perpetual neutrality."
This kind of questions is actually an ideal use for an LLM, which can integrate information across multiple sources. So I asked Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity this same question.
[ At the end of the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War, the French Armée de l'Est was interned in neutral Switzerland. The Swiss fed and medically cared the French army by the civilian population and housed in Swiss communities. What was the effect of this internment on the development of Switzerland? Why was it such an important event? Give citations for follow-up and validation. ]
The good news: They all gave small variations on the same answer. My summary of the AI answers is this:
The French“Armée de l’Est” had been defeated in the field while attempting the Siege of Belfort and fled to Switzerland in the aftermath.
Besieged by the Prussian army, over 80,000 French troops crossed the border into the Vaud and Neuchâtel Jura regions to take refuge in Switzerland.
The internment had a profound effect on Switzerland, primarily by strengthening its national identity and solidifying its foreign policy of armed neutrality.
The act of caring for a foreign army (that was about 3% of Switzerland’s total population) so quickly ended up uniting the Swiss people across linguistic and regional divides. Citizens from all cantons, regardless of whether they spoke French, German, or Italian, worked together to provide shelter, food, and medical care to the interned soldiers. This shared national effort fostered a sense of unity and collective purpose in the young federal state.
The experience also highlighted weaknesses in the Swiss military's logistical and command structures. The need to quickly mobilize and manage such a large number of troops led to significant reforms in the Swiss armed forces, strengthening the concept of a national militia, and ultimately reinforcing their sense of neutrality.
The Bourbaki cyclorama was a key piece of national history-telling. The event didn't just slide into obscurity, but was held up by the government as part of national identity.
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Since the days of the cycloramas technology keeps evolving. Now we have IMAX theatres with a huge field of view display. And more recently there's the Sphere in Las Vegas with an extremely large immersive display space. Doubtlessly the technology for large immersive displays will continue to evolve. One of my favorites is Disney's "Soarin' Over California." (YouTube video to give you an idea... but a small video is NOT the same as complete immersion.)
SearchResearch Lessons
1. Be curious about what you find! Reading all the way to the bottom of the Wikipedia page led us to the Categories... that's a useful thing to know.
2. Note important term distinctions. A "panorama" is any wide-angle image. But a "cyclorama" is specifically a 360 immersive panorama.
3. Use the specialized terms for your searches. Obviously... the more precise your language, the better your results.
4. A good use for LLMs is to summarize text and concepts across a number of resources. The last Challenge was a good example. Naturally, you'll want to check the sources (I did), but in this case they all were in agreement.
Keep searching!
