Bernoullianum, Scientific university building in Basel, Switzerland

The Bernoullianum is a listed university building in Basel, erected 1872–1874 to designs by Johann Jakob Stehlin the Younger. Its monumental facade has a grand external staircase leading to a lecture hall of around 500 seats. A dome on the roof marks the former Basel Observatory, housed here until 1928. Today it contains geology, environmental geosciences and the Imaging and Media Lab.

The building was constructed between 1872 and 1874 under architect Johann Jakob Stehlin the Younger. Its creation marked a celebration of the 400-year tradition of natural sciences at the University of Basel.

The central auditorium, designed to accommodate 500 people, established the building as a center for scientific education and public knowledge dissemination.

The Bernoullianum stands at Bernoullistrasse 26/30 near Klingelbergstrasse, and the Basel bus line of the same name stops by the building. A free staircase on the front of the monumental building leads up to the roughly 500-seat lecture hall. The MeteoSwiss weather station sits next to the building, so expect measuring equipment on the grounds.

The dome on the roof is the remnant of the Basel Observatory, which was housed in the building until 1928. In 1923 Hans Zickendraht made the first Swiss radio broadcast from here, demonstrating radio reception to visitors at the Mustermesse Basel.