Refracting telescope, 76 cm (30 inch) aperture, installed at Pulkovo Observatory, near St. Petersberg, Russia in 1885. Its scale can be judged by the small human figures in the photo. Built by Repsold and Sons of Germany, it was one of the largest telescopes in the world at the time. Its focal length was 12.8 m (42 ft). During the Siege of Leningrad, 1944, the telescope was destroyed along with the rest of the observatory by German bombardment, but the valuable objective lens, cast by Alvan Clark & Sons, was saved. Caption: ""The new 30-inch refractor of the Pulkowa Observatory, constructed by Repsold and Sons, 1884, Hamburg, Germany""