page_title: Leiden Observatory
section_title: 1860–1974
hierarchical_section_title: Leiden Observatory / History / 1860–1974
context_page_description: Leiden Observatory is an astronomical institute of Leiden University, in the Netherlands. Established in 1633 to house the quadrant of Rudolph Snellius, it is the oldest operating university observatory in the world, with the only older still existing observatory being the Vatican Observatory.
  The observatory was initially located on the university building in the centre of Leiden before a new observatory building and dome were constructed in the university's botanical garden in 1860. It remained there until 1974 when the department moved to the science campus north-west of the city. Notable astronomers that have worked or directed the observatory include Willem de Sitter, Ejnar Hertzsprung and Jan Oort.
context_section_description: By 1860 the new observatory building was completed. The new building was constructed in a quiet side of the city inside the university's botanical gardens. It consisted of a number of offices, living quarters for astronomers, and a number of observing domes containing telescopes. In 1873 two new rooms were added to the building in order to house the tools required to verify nautical instruments; tools used to test compasses, sextants and other instruments. Two of the domes were rebuilt, one in 1875 and the other in 1889.
  More new buildings were constructed before the end of the 19th century including the Western tower in 1878, one to the East in 1898, and another small building to house a gas engine in the same year (used for electricity until the observatory was connected to the city grid). In 1896 the observatory purchased their first photographic telescope, with a dome being built to house it between then and 1898.
  In 1923 the observatory formed a research agreement with Union Observatory to allow researchers use of both facilities. The first visitor from Leiden was Ejnar Hertzsprung. In 1954 the telescopes were moved to Hartbeespoort. The collaboration lasted until 1972.
  The old Observatory building of this period was restored from 2008 to 2012, and in the 2010s houses a visitor center and also has tours.
caption: The second building to house the Leiden Observatory (built in 1860). This building now houses part of the law faculty. Two of the optical telescope domes can be seen on the roof.
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