The so-called “Kosmoramen”, cosmoramas, were planned as a supplementary programme to the panorama of Salzburg and gave visitors to Sattler’s panorama the opportunity to get a close-up view of places from all over the world. The oldest of them were painted by Johann Michael Sattler himself. His son Hubert Sattler (1817-1904) concentrated entirely on the cosmoramas as his speciality. They had to be looked at through a peep-show first, which enhanced the powers of association evoked by foreign and faraway cities and landscapes even more. Sattler went on long exhibition tours with his cosmoramas, even as far as America.

Treasures of art history

Hubert Sattler’s cosmoramas were produced with meticulous brushwork in the artist’s studio. Aiding him in his work was a rich store of usually very detailed sketches he had collected while travelling; he was practically always on the road looking for motifs. Later he also used photographs as source. His pictures are remarkable for their strict realism and detailed precision. Today their painterly quality is once more highly valued. 

Special exhibitions

The Salzburg museum owns more than 130 of these cosmoramas, many of which have not been exhibited for decades. Sometimes they are being shown in alternating sequence in the Panorama Museum.

But at present you can see the special exhibition "The Trapp familiy - Reality and Sound of Music".