Diorama Show and Cinema at the Altötting Marienwerk

A strong thunderstorm is brewing, the horses drawing the carriage break loose, a boy falls under the wheels of the carriage and suffers life-threatening injuries. This vivid portrayal makes it easy to imagine what the boy’s mother must have gone through. However, thanks to the help and intercession of the Mother of God at the Gnadenkapelle the boy is healthy again the following day. These dramatic events surrounding the second Altötting miracle gave rise to the Marian pilgrimages that have been made to Altötting throughout the centuries and thus also to the Diorama Show. Further historical events and milestones of Altötting’s pilgrimage history, such as the construction of the Stiftspfarrkiche or the Holy Alliance, are presented in a vivid and impressive way at the Diorama Show.

The Diorama Show was created by the painter and sculptor Reinhold Zellner and his wife Dora together with the academic painter Hans List between 1957 and 1959. They modelled, painted and dressed about 350 people and animals made of clay and designed the landscape shown in the spatial pictures of the Diorama Show. Thanks to their enormous artistic skills they managed to create realistic and vivid Dioramas, which are a characteristic of the Diorama Show, thus establishing the show as an exceptional museum in Altötting.