Scultetus Observatory (Scultetus-Sternwarte), Görlitz

The astronomical traditions of Görlitz date back to the Renaissance. The clocks on the town hall tower, the house of Bartholomäus Scultetus in Peterstrasse and the sundial on St. Peter's Church are all evidence of this. The Augustum Gymnasium on Klosterplatz is also part of this long tradition. The tower there has housed an observatory since 1856. This means that Görlitz has one of the oldest school observatories in Germany. It was moved to Görlitz-Biesnitz, at the foot of the Landeskrone, in 1971. An observatory with a planetarium was built here between 1967 and 1989. It is the only one in Lower Silesia and one of the largest in Saxony.The Scultetus Observatory in Görlitz has extensive observation technology in two observation domes and buildings. The most impressive device is a 40 cm mirror telescope with a length of two meters. The heart of the facility is the planetarium, under whose 8 m dome there is space for over 80 people. Visitors are always fascinated by the brilliance of the artificial starry sky. Smaller groups in particular experience an atmospheric, individual atmosphere. During the presentation, visitors can speak directly to the speaker and thus learn interesting facts about the sun, moon, planets and constellations in an easy-to-understand manner, regardless of the weather. Of course, visitors are also informed about the city's astronomical sights, from the clocks to the meridian stone.