The astronomical observatory Bucharest

“Admiral Vasile Urseanu” Observatory is a small observatory oriented towards public outreach, being located in central Bucharest, at 21, Lascăr Catargiu Bvd.


The astronomical observatory functions in the building owned at first by the contra-admiral Vasile Urseanu (1848 - 1926), Romanian war hero, and passionate amateur astronomer. After his retirement, the admiral become the first president of the "Flammarion" Romanian Astronomical Society (1908), and in 1910 he builds on his expenses a house with a "naval" shape and a 5m astronomic cupola - the first astronomical observatory of the city.


In 1933, the admiral's widow donate s the building to municipality and the City Art Gallery made of the place its first location. The astronomical museum was founded in 1956 and shelters an exhibition on the history of Romanian astronomy; the collection includes documents, books and manuscripts, books of admiral Vasile Urseanu, research items, period items, original telescope, ancient sun disks, old astronomical tools, panels with rare astronomical phenomena noticed in our country, next to the equipment of the observatory itself, including an equatorial Zeiss telescope with an objective 150 mm in diameter, situated in a 5m astronomic cupola installed in the highest place of the building.


Here you can see a virtual tour of the cupola, realized by the www.in360.ro team

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