Plastic Panorama of Old Lviv
Plastic Panorama of Old Lviv (Polish: Panorama Plastyczna Dawnego Lwowa) is a large 1:200 scale model of Lwów as it looked in the mid-18th century, when the city was part of the Crown of Poland. The model measures 4 by 3.6 meters and shows all buildings and streets inside the 18th‑century city walls. It was created in the interwar period under the supervision of Polish architect and art historian Janusz Witwicki. The model was built from Bristol board, lead, sheet copper and wire, and colored with paints and acids. Witwicki financed it at first, and a foundation later raised funds. In early 1939 the city authorities agreed to cover about one third of the costs, but by September 1, 1939 they provided only 10,000 PLN.
By the start of World War II, the largest buildings were already modeled. During the Soviet (1939–41) and German (1941–44) occupations, Witwicki continued working on the panorama with about 20 helpers. After the war, Soviet authorities did not allow moving the Panorama to Poland; the documentation was confiscated and kept by the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. Witwicki died on July 16, 1946, under unclear circumstances, with some suspecting NKVD involvement. His wife later took the Panorama to Warsaw and kept it secretly in the National Museum’s vaults with the help of professor Stanisław Lorentz. It was then moved to Wrocław, where many Lwów residents settled after the war. After restoration it was shown in the Museum of Architecture in Wrocław, but since 2003 it has been stored in a vault.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 05:53 (CET).