Urania is a public educational institute and observatory in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, Austria.
Urania Observatory (German:
Urania Sternwarte
Urania Sternwarte is a public observatory in the Lindenhof quarter of Zürich, Switzerland. Its name ''Urania'' refers to the muse of astronomy in Greek mythology.
History
Its origins base on a first observatory on the roof of the Zunfthaus ...
) was built in 1909 according to the plans of
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
style architect
Max Fabiani
Maximilian Fabiani, commonly known as Max Fabiani ( it, Massimo, sl, Maks) (29 April 1865 – 12 August 1962) was a cosmopolitan trilingual architect and town planner of mixed Italian-Austrian ancestry, born in the village of Kobdilj near Š ...
(a student of
Otto Wagner
Otto Koloman Wagner (; 13 July 1841 – 11 April 1918) was an Austrian architect, furniture designer and urban planner. He was a leading member of the Vienna Secession movement of architecture, founded in 1897, and the broader Art Nouveau move ...
) at the outlet of the
Wien River
The Wien is a river that flows through Austria's capital Vienna.
Geography
The river Wien is long, of which are within the city. Its drainage basin covers an area of , both in the city and in the neighbouring Vienna Woods. Its source lies in ...
and was opened in 1910 by
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the Grand title of the Emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg m ...
as an educational facility with a public
observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...
. It was named after the
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
''
Urania
Urania ( ; grc, , Ouranía; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy, and in later times, of Christian poetry. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, he ...
'' who represents
Astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, 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 annual
Viennale
The Vienna International Film Festival, or Viennale, is a film festival taking place every October since 1960 in Vienna, Austria.
The average number of visitors is about 75,000. Traditional cinema venues are ''Gartenbaukino'', ''Urania'', ''Metro ...
movie festival and a puppet theater created originally by actor
Hans Kraus
Hans Kraus (November 28, 1905 in Austria-Hungary – March 6, 1996, in New York City) was a physician, physical therapist, mountaineer and alpinist. A pioneer of modern rock climbing, he was also one of the fathers of sports medicine and physica ...
. The Urania moreover contains a memorial room for the
Kindertransport
The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children (but not their parents) from Nazi-controlled territory that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World ...
organized by the Dutch resistance fighter and humanitarian Mrs
Gertruida Wijsmuller-Meijer
Geertruida Wijsmuller-Meijer (21 April 1896, in Alkmaar – 30 August 1978, in Amsterdam) was a Dutch Dutch resistance, resistance fighter who brought Jews, Jewish children and adults into safety before and during the World War II, Second World Wa ...
, who early December 1938 managed to rescue the first 600 Jewish children from Vienna after direct negotiations in Vienna with
Carl Julius Haidvogel
Carl Julius Haidvogel was born to Carl Haidvogel and Juliana on 13 September 1891 in Vienna, Austria. From 1912, Haidvogel worked as a registrar for the municipality of Vienna, was a part-time editor at the public educational institute and observat ...
once worked there as an editor.
Gallery
File:GuentherZ 2013-06-14 0294 Wien01 Aspernbruecke Urania Schiff Schloegen.JPG
File:Urania Vienna June 2006 292.jpg
File:Wien_01_Urania_04.jpg
File:Urania Vienna June 2006 295.jpg
File:Urania, Vienna.jpg
File:Wien Urania 5936.JPG
File:Wien I Urania 22.09.20 JM.jpg