Panoptikum - Das Wachsfigurenkabinett

The fascination between wax and reality

A selfie with pop star Adele, the Queen and Angela Merkel? That’s impossible! Or is it? It is possible – at the Panoptikum in Hamburg. Because here, visitors encounter what is arguably Germany’s most dazzling celebrity flat-share. The Panoptikum in Hamburg’s St. Pauli district was founded in 1879, making it Germany’s oldest waxworks museum. The Faerber family, now in its fifth generation, continues this tradition to this day – with dedication, care and a great eye for detail. After all, the resemblance to the originals is no coincidence. It is true art.

Visitors can experience this very special art across more than 700 m² of exhibition space. The Panoptikum is a fascinating world of wax, where reality and fantasy merge. Currently, more than 120 figures from the worlds of art and culture, sport and politics, society and history are on display – including many celebrities and genuine megastars. Best of all: the stars and starlets aren’t camera-shy in the slightest and wait patiently for a souvenir photo from the ‘private paparazzi’. Photography is expressly permitted in the exhibition – after all, selfies with the wax figures are an essential part of any visit to the Panoptikum!

Alongside contemporary figures such as presenter Barbara Schöneberger, who joined the waxworks collection in 2019 to mark the Panoptikum’s 140th anniversary, singer Helene Fischer, US President Donald Trump and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, the exhibition also features local celebrities such as Olivia Jones and Udo Lindenberg, as well as historical figures including Henry VIII, Albert Einstein and Friedrich von Schiller. A horror scene and a medical-anatomical cabinet round off the collection.