Dresden Panometer

Inside a former gasometer in Germany, a 360º painting takes you back in time to 1756 Dresden.

The work of Austrian artist Yadegar Asisi, the term “panometer” is a unique one, coined by the artist to embody the description of the panorama presented in the inner wall of a former gasometer, a circular storage tank for natural gas. The Dresden panometer was unveiled in 2006—Asisi has another in the city of Leipzig which opened in 2003.

The gasometer at first seems like an odd place to showcase art, but for a panorama showcase, its brilliant. The Dresden exhibit is housed in the 1879 telescopic gas holder, a cylindrical building 128 feet tall and 177 feet in diameter. The circular shape inside lends well to the needs of a massive 360-degree painting whose dimensions measure 89 feet in height and 344 feet in circumference. 

Viewed from a platform that rises up from the center of the building, the Asisi’s panorama depicts the 1756 skyline of Dresden, with aspects both historically accurate and artistically rendered, and the music of Belgian composer Eric Babak assists in delivering you to the baroque setting. Along the outer wall, city maps and original 18th and 19th century drawings of the city are exhibited alongside more of Asisi’s work.