History
The Observatory was founded by the Croatian Society for Natural Sciences. The premises in Popov Toranj were provided by the city government, which gave the funds for the reconstruction and the installation of an astronomic dome and a telescope. The grand opening took place on December 5, 1903. The first manager of the Observatory was Oton Kučera, a major promoter of science in Croatia.
The international renown of the first observatory in the region was enhanced by August Kopff, an astronomer from Heidelberg. When he discovered the planetoid No. 589 in 1906, he named it "Croatia" in the honor of the new observatory.
Along with scientific work, the Observatory has always been used for popular science, which flourished in the mid-20th century, when the Esperanto editions of the Observatory spread its name around the world. The observatory was closed during World War II. In the 1960s, a new electrical telescope was bought. The Observatory and the Croatian Astronomic Society made their greatest cultural contribution to Zagreb when they procured the planetarium in 1963. It was donated to the Technical Museum, where it is still used.
In the mid-1980s, the Observatory building complex was thoroughly renovated. In 1992, a new dome was installed, the equipment and activities were modernized. Today, the Observatory is a gathering point of the lovers of astronomy and natural sciences. It traditionally holds lectures, stargazing sessions, astronomic education and other activities for the citizens. Its scientific work regarding the physics of the Sun is done together with the Hvar Observatory.
Read more about this topic: Zagreb Observatory
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of work has been, in part, the history of the worker’s body. Production depended on what the body could accomplish with strength and skill. Techniques that improve output have been driven by a general desire to decrease the pain of labor as well as by employers’ intentions to escape dependency upon that knowledge which only the sentient laboring body could provide.”
—Shoshana Zuboff (b. 1951)
“Three million of such stones would be needed before the work was done. Three million stones of an average weight of 5,000 pounds, every stone cut precisely to fit into its destined place in the great pyramid. From the quarries they pulled the stones across the desert to the banks of the Nile. Never in the history of the world had so great a task been performed. Their faith gave them strength, and their joy gave them song.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)
“All objects, all phases of culture are alive. They have voices. They speak of their history and interrelatedness. And they are all talking at once!”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)