Uraniborg
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uraniborg was an astronomical/astrological observatory operated by Tycho Brahe; built circa 1576-1580 on Hven (also spelled Ven or Hveen), an island in the Öresund between Zealand and Scania, at that time belonging to Denmark.
The building was dedicated to Urania, the Muse of Astronomy and named Uraniborg, "The Castle of Urania." It was the first custom-built observatory, and the last to be built without a telescope as its primary instrument. The cornerstone was laid on August 8, 1576. Tycho abandoned Uraniborg in 1597, and it was destroyed in 1601. The grounds are currently being restored.
Uraniborg was square, about 15 meters on a side. There were two "towers", one each on the north and south sides of the main building, giving the building an overall rectangular look. The building was primary built of red brick. The main floor consisted of four rooms, one of which was occupied by Tycho and his family, the other three for visiting astronomers. The northern tower housed the kitchens, and the southern a library. The second floor was divided into three rooms, two of equal size and one larger. The larger room was reserved for visiting royalty. The towers on this level housed the primary astronomical instruments, accessed from outside the building or from doors on this floor. Outrider towers, supported on pillars, housed additional instruments slightly further from the building, giving them a wider angle of view. On the third floor was a "loft", subdivided into eight smaller rooms for students. Only the roofs of the towers reached this level, although a single tower extended above the loft in the middle of the building, accessed via a spiral staircase. Uraniborg also featured a large basement; with an alchemical laboratory in one end, and storage for food, salt and fuel at the other.[1]
Surrounding Uraniborg was a large wall, 75 meters on a side and 5.5 meters high. Uraniborg was located in the very middle, with an extensive set of intricate gardens between the walls and the building. In addition to being decorative, the gardens also supplied herbs for the Tycho's medicinal chemistry experiments. The gardens are currently being re-created, using seeds found on-site or identified in Tycho's writings.
Uraniborg was an extremely expensive project. It is estimated that it cost about 1% of the entire state budget during construction,[2] making it one of history's most expensive science projects. In contrast, the US space effort during Project Apollo cost about 0.4% of the US GNP.
Shortly after construction it became clear that the tower-mounted instruments were too easily moved by wind, and Tycho set about constructing a more suitable observation site. The result was Stjerneborg ("castle of the stars"), a smaller site built entirely at ground level and dedicated purely to observations (there was no "house"). The basic layout was similar to Uraniborg, with a wall of similar shape surrounding the site, although much smaller. The instruments were all placed underground, covered by opening shutters or a rotating dome in buildings built over the instrument pits.
Upon losing financial support from the new king, Christian IV of Denmark, Tycho abandoned Hven in 1597 and both Uraniborg and Stjerneborg were destroyed shortly after Tycho's death. Stjerneborg was the subject of archaeological excavations during the 1950s, resulting in the restoration of the observatory.[3] Stjerneborg now houses a multimedia show.
