Sterre(n)wacht Leiden by Leanne lovink

About "Sterre(n)wacht Leiden"

by Leanne lovink

About the artwork

The Leiden Observatory was founded in 1633 as an observatory at Leiden University, making it the oldest university observatory in the world. For the first two centuries, the Observatory was mainly used for education and was housed on the roof of the Academy Building. In 1861, a new and larger observatory was built under the direction of F. Kaiser on land that was compulsorily ceded by the Hortus botanicus Leiden. This building is now called the Old Observatory. The Observatory had many directors of world renown, such as F. Kaiser, H.G. van de Sande Bakhuyzen, W. de Sitter, and J.H. Oort.

In 1974, the Observatory moved to the Huygens Laboratory, and since 1997 it has been partially housed in the new J.H. Oort building. The usual spelling of the name is "Sterrewacht", although in contemporary Dutch, the correct spelling is "sterrenwacht".

thus : https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterrewacht_Leiden The Old Observatory is the former observatory building of the Sterrewacht of Leiden University. The building is a national monument and occupies a prominent location next to the Hortus botanicus Leiden at the head of a former stronghold on the Witte Singel. Designed by architect Henri Camp, the building was commissioned in 1861 and underwent extensive renovation from 2009 to 2011. The building currently serves as lecture space for Leiden University's law faculty. In the basement i