Hoher List Observatory

Hoher List Observatory stands on the Hoher List mountain in the Eifel region of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, close to the town of Daun and about 60 kilometres southwest of Bonn.

About Hoher List Observatory

Sited at roughly 504 metres above sea level, the observatory is privately owned today, with some of its buildings protected as historic monuments. Its instruments include a 1-metre Cassegrain telescope, a 50cm Schmidt telescope, a double refractor dating to 1899, an Askania Nasmyth-Cassegrain telescope with a 106.5cm aperture, and a 60cm Ritchey-Chrétien telescope.

History

Built in 1954, Hoher List Observatory was owned and operated by the University of Bonn until 2012. In March 2020 it passed into private ownership and is now maintained by the Astronomische Vereinigung Vulkaneifel, a non-profit association that keeps its historic telescopes in public and educational use.

Telescopes & research

Where the observatory's instruments once supported astrometry and photometry research for the University of Bonn, increasing light pollution has shifted their role toward education and public observing, run today by the Astronomische Vereinigung Vulkaneifel.

Location & getting there

Hoher List sits in the wooded, volcanic Eifel region, near Daun and within the Gesundland Vulkaneifel area, roughly an hour's drive from Bonn.

Visiting Hoher List Observatory

The observatory can be visited by arrangement with the Astronomische Vereinigung Vulkaneifel; check the Gesundland Vulkaneifel tourism pages or call ahead before travelling.

See your named star from here

With a full-metre Cassegrain and several other telescopes on site, Hoher List has the equipment to seek out a named star at its exact coordinates; look yours up in our catalogue before a visit.