Federal Observatory

In the heart of Zurich, Switzerland, the Federal Observatory - the Eidgenössische Sternwarte - has stood since 1864 as one of the city's most distinguished scientific buildings.

About Federal Observatory

The observatory was designed and built between 1861 and 1864 by the celebrated architect Gottfried Semper for the Swiss Federal Polytechnic Institute, now ETH Zurich. Its dome was designed by mathematician and astronomer Rudolf Wolf together with mechanical engineer Franz Reuleaux, and built by the Escher Wyss company. Its instruments came from Kern of Aarau, with optics supplied by G. Merz & Sohn of Munich in 1862 and 1864.

History

Rudolf Wolf served as the observatory's first director from 1864 to 1893, followed by Alfred Wolfer (1894–1926), William Otto Brunner (1926–1945) and Max Waldmeier (1945–1979). Through the second half of the nineteenth century it stood as one of the major solar observatories of its time, and it remained operational from 1863 until 1980.

Location & getting there

The Federal Observatory is located in the city of Zurich, in the Europe region of Switzerland.

Visiting Federal Observatory

We don't have confirmed current public visiting information for the building. Check with ETH Zurich for the latest details before planning a visit.

See your named star from here

A site with more than a century of solar and stellar research behind it is a fitting place to think about a star named through Star Register. Look up its coordinates in the star catalogue.