 Urania at sunset | |
| Named after | Urania  |
|---|---|
| Location | Vienna,Austria |
| Coordinates | 48°12′42″N16°23′01″E / 48.21167°N 16.38361°E /48.21167; 16.38361 |
| Established | 1910 |
| Website | www.urania-sternwarte.at |
  Location of Urania | |
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Urania is a public educational institute and observatory inVienna, Austria.
Urania Observatory (German:Urania Sternwarte) was built in 1909[1] according to the plans ofArt Nouveau style architectMax Fabiani (a student ofOtto Wagner) at the outlet of theWien River and was opened in 1910 byFranz Joseph I of Austria as an educational facility with a publicobservatory. It was named after theMuseUrania who representsAstronomy.
DuringWorld War II, the Urania was severely damaged and the dome with the observatory was destroyed. After its reconstruction, it was reopened in 1957. The observatory itself has been continually improved technically over the years.
Though it now serves different functions, the Urania continues to be a public observatory. Presently the Urania also has seminar rooms in which wide-ranging classes and lectures are given, a movie theater that screens at the annualViennale movie festival and a puppet theater created originally by actorHans Kraus. The Urania moreover contains a memorial room for theKindertransport organized by the Dutch resistance fighter and humanitarian MrsGeertruida Wijsmuller-Meijer, who early December 1938 managed to rescue the first 600 Jewish children from Vienna after direct negotiations in Vienna withAdolf Eichmann. It also hosts a restaurant, and is the oldest public observatory in Austria.[2] The highly awarded Austrian writerCarl Julius Haidvogel once worked there as an editor.
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