History
Its origins base on a first observatory on the roof of the Zunfthaus zur Meisen. In 1759, so called «Astronomische Kommission» succeeded from this location for the first time, to define Culminatio solis and thus calculated the exact global location of the city of Zurich. In later years, astronomical observations were done from the Grossmünster's southern «Karl's tower», followed by scientific obsevations (not for public use by interested enthusiasts) from the Federal observatory, built 1861/64 for ETH Zürich by Gottfried Semper.
In 1899, the Zürich merchant Abraham Weill Einstein initiated the oldest observatory in Switzerland, situated near Werdmühleplatz (Uraniastrasse). On June 15, 1907, the observatory was given to operational use. Its approximately 51 meter high tower, dominating western end of Zurich's historical Altstadt.
Read more about this topic: Urania Sternwarte
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“The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs?”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)