History of the Old Observatory

The Old Observatory was constructed in 1844–1852 through the efforts of Professor Gustaf Svanberg. It was inaugurated in summer 1853, in the presence of a number of prominent astronomers including Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve from the Pulkovo Observatory, and Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander from Bonn. The Old Observatory then became the centre of research in astronomy at Uppsala University.

The building now houses historical instruments and domes that are still used by Uppsala Amatörastronomer (UAA), an association for local amateur astronomers, and are on display for the public to view on special occasions.

Observatory Park

The area around the Old Observatory is called Observatory Park, and is also home to several other buildings used by the University. In 1864, the Meteorological Observatory was built. Meteorology was part of the subject area of astronomy until the late 1870s.

A round building for a Newtonian reflector was constructed in 1890, and two similar buildings were added in 1913 and 1921.

In 1904, a building was constructed to house seismographic measuring equipment.

In 1928, Musicum was built in the Park, which is used by the Royal Academic Orchestra, Uppsala University Jazz Orchestra and the Uppsala Akademiska Kammarkör, Uppsala’s academic chamber choir.

In the Meridian building, observations were made to determine the official time for the city. Inaccurate observations did occur however, and sometimes led to the need to correct the time, which affected the railways, for example.

The time was determined by observing bright stars passing the local meridian. These observations were crucial before radio signals took over time synchronisation in the 1920s.