Volkssterrenwacht Simon Stevin

Volkssterrenwacht Simon Stevin, in Hoeven in the Netherlands, was the country's first public observatory, tracing its origins to Oudenbosch in 1961 before moving to its Hoeven site in 1970.

About Volkssterrenwacht Simon Stevin

Named after the Dutch scientist Simon Stevin, the observatory offered guided tours, lectures, courses and even instruction in grinding your own telescope mirror. One of its more unusual instruments was an original WWII-era Würzburg radar dish, built by Telefunken, repurposed for solar observation.

History

The observatory began in Oudenbosch in 1961, the first public observatory in the Netherlands, and relocated to Hoeven in 1970 as public interest grew. From the 1990s onward, visitor numbers declined, and the Hoeven site closed in 2008. Its legacy continues at the original Oudenbosch location, reopened in 2015 as Sterrenwacht Tivoli, an educational centre focused on the history of amateur astronomy and space exploration.

Location & getting there

The observatory's Hoeven site lies in the Netherlands.

Visiting Volkssterrenwacht Simon Stevin

The Hoeven observatory closed to the public in 2008. Visitors interested in its history and instruments, including the former Würzburg radar dish, can instead visit its successor, Sterrenwacht Tivoli, at the original Oudenbosch site.

See your named star from here

Even though the Hoeven site is no longer open, the idea behind it lives on: a star named through star-register.eu comes with exact coordinates that any public observatory's telescope can be pointed at. Name a star as a gift, or browse the catalogue of named stars.