EPFL launches digitised version of Battle of Murten panorama

Researchers in Switzerland have digitised the monumental Battle of Murten historic painting (100x10 metres) and created an immersive online platform for the public. Keystone-SDA

To mark the anniversary of the Battle of Murten on 22 June, 1476, the Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) has launched a website that offers the public an immersive experience of the huge panorama painting of the historic battle. 

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The EPFL’s Laboratory for Experimental Museology has digitised the huge circular painting, made in 1893, which is currently not accessible to the public.

The EPFL says it is the largest image of a physical object ever created at ultra-high resolution. The online platform provides access to the primary sources. The terapixel panorama features videos, 3D objects, motion recordings and a dynamic soundscape.

The online platform, intended for the general public, has a multimodal narrative in which users can follow guided tours, navigate, observe and interact with the digital version of the panorama.

The online version is in three languages and has an audio description mode.

A series of exhibitions on the topic will also be held from August 2025 to May 2027, for example at the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich, the Murtenmuseum in canton Fribourg, the Historisches Museum Bern and Grandson Castle in canton Vaud.

Search for an exhibition venue

The original circular painting by Louis Braun from 1894 measures 100 x 10 metres and weighs one and a half tonnes. Art and history fans have been seeking a location for the painting for many years.

During the 2002 national exhibition, the original version was exhibited in the floating cube on the Arteplage Murten. The installation was one of the most visited sites at Expo.02.

The panorama depicts the victory near Bern of the Swiss cantons over the Duke of Burgundy, “Charles the Bold”, in 1476.

Translated from German with DeepL/sb

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