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Giant
Panoramic Painting Cyclorama:
the battle of Bergisel 1809 For
ten years, the cyclorama was housed in a simple wooden rotunda near the
fair grounds. The rapid waning of public interest spelled financial ruin
for the painting. Shortly before its contract with the city of Innsbruck
was to expire, the painting was shipped to the Royal Austrian Exhibition
in London. When the wooden rotunda burned to the ground immediately
thereafter, there was suspicion of arson. Today, the cyclorama is one of
the most famous symbols of Innsbruck. When the painting returned from
London, its new owners Max Gleich and Anton von Guggenberg had a sturdy
new rotunda built. It was located on Ferdinand Avenue (now called
Rennweg), right beside the Hungerburg funicular railway which had opened
the previous year and near what was then the chain bridge across the Inn
River. Designed by Josef Retter, the impressive central structure is 30
meters (about 100 feet) in diameter and 20 meters (about 65 feet) high.
The exterior was renovated in 1976. |
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