Has your curiosity piqued your interest enough to go inside an enchanted Mirror Maze? Or have you ever been to a mirror maze? Today, we’ll take a peek at the magic that lies behind these mind-bending riddles, as we discover Camera Obscura’s Magical Mirror Maze!

Even the mirror maze pattern itself is a pattern, integrating repetition, symmetry, and tessellation through the use of repeating equilateral triangles to create an intricate design. A tessellation is formed when all of these triangles come together perfectly, with no gaps or overlaps. Mirrored structures all around mirror the pattern, making it appear to repeat indefinitely and to be endless.

Mirror Mazes are known by a variety of names, a mirror house, a hall of mirrors, or a mirror maze are all terms that have been used to describe them. It is a maze with mirrors as walls, which increases the challenge of navigating through a standard maze.

Two Types of Mazes:

1. The Mirror Maze

Mirrors and glass are used to create a playhouse of mirrors. The glass will act as a barrier, allowing you to see a section of the maze that you’ll be able to access. These are the kinds of mazes that you’ll typically see in travelling carnivals and amusement parks.

2. Infinity Mirror Maze

Camera Obscura & The World of Illusions has this type of mirror labyrinth, which is similar to this one. This type of maze creates the appearance of an endless number of passageways leading in every direction. It is possible that there will be an endless number of reflections in some circumstances. The positions of the mirrors in relation to one another are responsible for achieving this result.

The First Mirror Maze

It is claimed that Peter Stuyvesant was the creator of the first mirror maze. An excursion to the Palace of Versailles, in the French province of Yvelines, provided him with inspiration. The Palace was home to a Hall of Mirrors, which was constructed in 1689.

When he returned to New Amsterdam (presently recognised as New York, US), Peter built a mirrored maze and paid one Dutch Gulden for the privilege of passing through it.

Gustav Castan, Berlin, Germany, was the first person to be awarded a patent for the mirror maze. In 1873, he opened the doors to his first labyrinth.

The majority of mirror mazes became part of itinerant carnivals. According to historical records, there were only two fixed Mirror Mazes within the entire globe in the 1800s. There were two of them; one was in Switzerland the other was within the Czech Republic.

During the early 1900s, the United States had more mirror mazes than any other country.

Mirror Mazes of Today

The use of contemporary effects such as coordinated coloured LED lighting, dark lights, and sound systems have allowed some of these traditional attractions to remain relevant.

Mirror Mazes have been featured in a variety of media, including novels, movies, and television, for countless years. A mirror maze may be seen inside James Bond: The Man with the Golden Gun, John Wick: Chapter 2, The Twilight Zone, and Stranger Things, among other films and television shows.

Camera Obscura’s Mirror Maze was constructed around 2009 and has proven to be one of the most popular displays at the site. A total of 6,500 individual programmable LEDs are contained in a 25-meter-long structure (without getting lost!). It was just restored in 2019!