Urania - Vienna, Austria - Astronomical Observatories on Waymarking.com

Long Description:


The Urania, named after the muse Urania who represents astronomy, is an art nouveau building built by architect Max Fabiani, a student of Otto Wagner, for the educational society of the same name (founded 1897). The house was opened in 1910 by Franz Joseph I as an educational center with a public observatory.

In World War II, the Urania was severely damaged and the dome with the observatory was totally destroyed. After its reconstruction, it was reopened in 1957. The observatory itself has been continually improved technically over the years. Today, the Urania also has seminar rooms in which wide-ranging classes and lectures are given, a movie theater that screens at the annual Viennale film festival, and a puppet theater originally created by Hans Kraus.

Please note the geocache GCM8CB: Urania at the same location.

Observatory Purpose: Private Optical / Infrared Telescopes?: Yes Radio Telescopes?: No Solar Telescopes?: Yes Open to the Public?: Yes Is this a Club Observatory?: No Public Viewing Allowed?: Yes Active Observatory?: Active Number of Telescopes or Antennas: 2 Site URL: [Web Link] Year Dedicated or Opened: 1910 Altitude (meters): 158

Visit Instructions:
Note the time of day of your visit, and your own photo of your favorite part of the observatory. This might be the view from the observatory, picture of your favorite building or favorite exhibit. (Be mindful of flash photography rules!)

If you participated in an observing session, let everyone know what you saw!

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   3/14/2010 TeamSO visited it 12/16/2009 polas_CZ visited it

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