The Magic Lantern Gazette - Library

Early Magic Lanterns 13
Climbing up the dark central staircase is a memorably uncanny
experience. At every step one is stared at by the painted eyes of
the students who studied at the monastery school over the centuries.
On every floor, there are doors to ‘cabinets’ dedicated to
different branches of learning, from mineralogy to zoology, astronomy
and even ethnology. On the top floor, there is still an
observatory, and meteorogical observations have been conducted
from the ‘mathematical tower’ daily since 1763. As it is,
the Sternwarte feels like a true time capsule.
The Physics Cabinet at Kremsmuenster. Photo by Erkki Huhtamo.
Sternwarte (observatory) at the Kremsmuenster Benedictine
monastery. Photo by Erkki Huhtamo.
The part that interested me most was the physics cabinet. The
display cases contain an impressive array of scientific instruments,
as well as some automata and a few other technical curiosities.
Among other things, there is a large optical machine that
makes a ‘real’ bird appear in an empty cage – in reality, in a large
concave mirror behind it (the stuffed bird is hidden, upside down,
behind the platform under the cage). There is also a rich display
of classic katoptric devices, and a magic lantern. I had seen this
lantern displayed on the Sternwarte website as an object of the
month several years ago, but it was great to see it in reality. 22
The wooden magic lantern at Kremsmuenster. Both the
body of the lantern and the lens tubes are made of wood.
Probably early 18th century. Photo by Erkki Huhtamo.