Tartu Old Observatory

The Old Observartory was built at the beginning of the 19th century according to design by the university's architect, Johann Wilhelm Krause. The astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve, who was then head of the observatory, is known for his research on double stars and his pioneering measurements of interstellar distance. At Struve's instigation, the observatory acquired a Fraunhofer refractor, one of the largest telescopes at the time. Nowadays, the Old Observatory is a modern museum and centre for school astronomy on Toome Hill. Historically, the Observatory was the gem of Estonian science and one of the most important centres of astronomy in the world.