Wiechert’sche Erdbebenwarte

The Wiechert'sche Erdbebenwarte stands on the Hainberg hill above Göttingen, Germany, and holds a distinctive title: it is recognised as the world's oldest earthquake observatory with continuously operating seismographs.

About Wiechert'sche Erdbebenwarte

Named after the physicist Emil Wiechert, who arrived in Göttingen in 1897 and became the station's director in 1898, the observatory is dedicated to seismology and geophysics rather than astronomy. Since 2005 it has been run by a dedicated support association (Verein).

History

The observatory moved to its current Hainberg location and was established in its present form in 1902. Continuous horizontal seismograph recordings began in January 1903, with vertical recordings following in 1905 — records that, remarkably, have continued largely uninterrupted ever since.

Telescopes & research

Rather than telescopes, the Erdbebenwarte's instruments are seismographs, including a historic 17-tonne pendulum seismograph, an astatic horizontal seismograph, and a vertical seismograph, alongside modern seismometers. Much of the original equipment is now over a century old and still forms part of the working, historic collection used for earthquake monitoring research.

Location & getting there

The observatory sits on the wooded Hainberg hill on the eastern edge of Göttingen, a university city in central Germany, chosen originally for the stability of its bedrock — the same quality that makes it ideal for detecting the faintest tremors from earthquakes around the world.

Visiting Wiechert'sche Erdbebenwarte

The observatory offers guided tours with barrier-free access; as of 2025 these run on the first Sunday of each month at 2pm. Checking current dates on the observatory's own website before visiting is recommended, as schedules can change.

See your named star from here

The Erdbebenwarte listens to the Earth rather than watches the sky, but Göttingen's surrounding countryside still offers reasonably dark skies after dusk for stargazing nearby. If you've named a star through Star Register, its coordinates can be found from anywhere the sky is clear enough — browse the catalogue or visit our packages to name one.