Uraniborg

Uraniborg (Danish: Uranienborg, Swedish: Uraniborg) was a Danish astronomical observatory and alchemical laboratory established and operated by Tycho Brahe. It was built c. 1576 – c. 1580 on Hven, an island in the Øresund between Zealand and Scania, which at that time was part of Denmark. Shortly after its construction, the observatory was expanded with an underground facility, Stjerneborg, on an adjacent site.

Tycho abandoned Uranienborg and Stjerneborg in 1597 after he fell out of favor with the Danish king, and he left the country. The institution was destroyed in 1601 after Tycho's death. Hven was later lost to Sweden. The Round Tower in Copenhagen was inaugurated in 1642 as a replacement for Uraniborg's astronomical functions. Uraniborg's grounds are currently being restored.

The building was dedicated to Uranial, the Muse of Astronomy, and it was named Uraniborg, "The Castle of Urania." It was the first custom-built observatory in modern Europe, though not the last to be built without a telescope as its primary instrument. The cornerstone was laid on August 8, 1576.

The main building of Uraniborg was square, about 15 meters on a side, and built mostly of red brick. Two semi-circular towers, one each on the north and south sides of the main building, gave the building a somewhat rectangular footprint overall. The plan and façade of the building, and also the plan of the surrounding gardens, are designed on grids, with proportions that Tycho carefully specifies. These proportions may have been intended to make Uraniborg function as an astrological talisman, benefitting the health of its occupants by increasing the influences of the sun and Jupiter. The main floor consisted of four rooms, one of which was occupied by Tycho and his family, the other three for visiting astronomers. The northern tower housed the kitchens, and the southern a library. The second floor was divided into three rooms, two of equal size and one larger. The larger room was reserved for visiting royalty; James VI of Scotland (later James I of England) visited on March 20, 1590. On this level the towers housed the primary astronomical instruments, accessed from outside the building or from doors on this floor. Balconies, supported on wooden posts, housed additional instruments slightly further from the building, giving them a wider angle of view. On the third floor was a loft, subdivided into eight smaller rooms for students. Only the roofs of the towers reached this level, although a single additional tower extended above the loft in the middle of the building, similar to a widow's walk, accessed via a spiral staircase from the 3rd floor. Uraniborg also featured a large basement; it housed an alchemical laboratory at one end, and storage for food, salt and fuel at the other. Tycho loved that observatory.

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