Kuffner Observatory

Kuffner Observatory is a public observatory founded in 1884 as the private research institute of Jewish industrialist Moriz von Kuffner, perched on the Gallitzinberg hill in Vienna-Ottakring. Around 1900 it ranked among the most important astronomical research stations in Central Europe; Karl Schwarzschild, who later formulated the Schwarzschild metric of General Relativity, worked here. After the Nazi seizure in 1939 and decades of decay, restoration began in 1987 and the observatory now offers regular public tours. Visitors can experience all four original historical instruments still in working order, including the Great Refractor built in 1886 with a 10.5-metre tube and the rare heliometer, one of only three surviving worldwide. Summer evenings with solar observation and lectures are particularly popular with families.