Description of the attraction
The Nikolaev observatory is located in the central part of the city of Nikolaev, on Observatornaya street and is one of the oldest observatories in Eastern Europe, as well as an architectural monument of national importance. The historical scientific institution was founded in 1821 by Admiral A. Greig as a marine observatory. Initially, it existed as the southern branch of the Main Astronomical Observatory, and since 1992 it received the status of an independent scientific institution of the country. In 2002. became a research institute "Nikolaev Astronomical Observatory", which, in addition to its main scientific activity, also conducts scientific and educational work. In 2007, the Nikolaev Observatory was included in the list of sites that claimed to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List from Ukraine.
The observatory includes: a territory with a total area of 7, 1 hectares, the main building of the observatory, modern and old pavilions and buildings for economic and scientific purposes, a park landscape. With the aim of popularizing astronomy, employees of several generations have preserved old astronomical instruments, old books, paintings, maps, photographs and a collection of astronomical clocks.
To date, the museum houses over 150 exhibits. The entire museum exposition is located in two astronomical pavilions and in the Round Hall of the main building. A collection of astronomical clocks is presented in the Museum's Round Hall, which contains a number of unique mechanical clocks made in the 18th – 20th centuries by famous Russian, English, German and Dutch craftsmen, as well as an astronomical alarm clock, a Faberge dial and chronometers. In two pavilions there is a vertical and a meridian Repsold circle.
Now the Nikolaev Observatory is a historical and scientific heritage of Ukraine, which has no analogues in our country.
