292
1650 and 1750, four Catholic churches were the best solar observatories in the
world. Built to fix an unquestionable date for Easter, they also housed instruments
that threw light on the disputed geometry of the solar system, and so, within sight of
the altar, subverted Church doctrine about the order of the universe.” (Heilbron, 2001).
The first meridian room was established by Ignazio Danti (1536–1586) in the
Tower of the Winds in the Vatican (1578/1580), under the sponsorship of Pope
Gregory XIII in connection with the calendar reform. The aim was to follow the
path of the sun during the year, in order to check if the new calendar is correct and
to show this to the public. Important examples for cathedrals with meridian lines are
the 67-m-meridian line in San Petronio in Bologna, 1655, made by Jean Dominique
Cassini (1625–1712); Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence; St. Sulpice in Paris; and
Santa Maria degli Angeli in Rome. Meridian lines were also integrated in observatories in Italy, but rarely outside of Italy, such as for instance the Clementinum in
Prague and the Mathematical Tower in Breslau (today Wrocław, Poland). Meridian
lines combine many fields of science and cultural history like astronomy, mathematics, architecture, ecclesiastical and civil history.
In Europe, during the Renaissance and Baroque, no observatory buildings in the
modern sense existed with fixed instruments and domes. Instead, city fortification
bastions, city walls and church towers or even balconies of castles were used as
observatories. The only examples of known actual observatories were Tycho’s
Uraniborg and Stjerneborg (Stellæburgum, Star Castle) on the Danish Island Hven
(today Ven, Swedish) in Øresund in 1576/1580 and 1584.
1
2 Baroque Observatories, Seventeenth/Eighteenth Century
2.1 Tower and Roof Observatories
The Round Tower (Rundetårn) in Copenhagen was erected in Flemish Renaissance
style in 1642 by the architect Hans Steenwinkel the Younger (1587–1639), during
the reign of King Christian IV (1588–1648). The 209-m long spiral ramp is unique
in European architecture. The platform, 34.8–m above the street, offered excellent
observation possibilities, an excellent view above the roofs of the city. The building
was used not only as an astronomical observatory, but also as a university library
and church, until 1861. Today, it is a public observatory and museum.
Many Baroque observatories used the city wall fortification, becoming thus
tower observatories, such as the ones in Bologna (1725) and Padova (1761). The
earliest university observatories were founded already in the seventeenth century:
Leiden started in 1633 with a small observatory tower on the roof of the University.
In 1861 (until 1974) the fortification Rapenburg was used as a new building for the
Sterrenwacht (now public observatory). In 1642 a platform on the fortification tower
1 See for example, Wolfschmidt (2002).
G. Wolfschmidt
1650 and 1750, four Catholic churches were the best solar observatories in the
world. Built to fix an unquestionable date for Easter, they also housed instruments
that threw light on the disputed geometry of the solar system, and so, within sight of
the altar, subverted Church doctrine about the order of the universe.” (Heilbron, 2001).
The first meridian room was established by Ignazio Danti (1536–1586) in the
Tower of the Winds in the Vatican (1578/1580), under the sponsorship of Pope
Gregory XIII in connection with the calendar reform. The aim was to follow the
path of the sun during the year, in order to check if the new calendar is correct and
to show this to the public. Important examples for cathedrals with meridian lines are
the 67-m-meridian line in San Petronio in Bologna, 1655, made by Jean Dominique
Cassini (1625–1712); Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence; St. Sulpice in Paris; and
Santa Maria degli Angeli in Rome. Meridian lines were also integrated in observatories in Italy, but rarely outside of Italy, such as for instance the Clementinum in
Prague and the Mathematical Tower in Breslau (today Wrocław, Poland). Meridian
lines combine many fields of science and cultural history like astronomy, mathematics, architecture, ecclesiastical and civil history.
In Europe, during the Renaissance and Baroque, no observatory buildings in the
modern sense existed with fixed instruments and domes. Instead, city fortification
bastions, city walls and church towers or even balconies of castles were used as
observatories. The only examples of known actual observatories were Tycho’s
Uraniborg and Stjerneborg (Stellæburgum, Star Castle) on the Danish Island Hven
(today Ven, Swedish) in Øresund in 1576/1580 and 1584.
1
2 Baroque Observatories, Seventeenth/Eighteenth Century
2.1 Tower and Roof Observatories
The Round Tower (Rundetårn) in Copenhagen was erected in Flemish Renaissance
style in 1642 by the architect Hans Steenwinkel the Younger (1587–1639), during
the reign of King Christian IV (1588–1648). The 209-m long spiral ramp is unique
in European architecture. The platform, 34.8–m above the street, offered excellent
observation possibilities, an excellent view above the roofs of the city. The building
was used not only as an astronomical observatory, but also as a university library
and church, until 1861. Today, it is a public observatory and museum.
Many Baroque observatories used the city wall fortification, becoming thus
tower observatories, such as the ones in Bologna (1725) and Padova (1761). The
earliest university observatories were founded already in the seventeenth century:
Leiden started in 1633 with a small observatory tower on the roof of the University.
In 1861 (until 1974) the fortification Rapenburg was used as a new building for the
Sterrenwacht (now public observatory). In 1642 a platform on the fortification tower
1 See for example, Wolfschmidt (2002).
G. Wolfschmidt