Bavarian Public Observatory Munich, Public observatory in Berg am Laim district, Munich, Germany.
The Bavarian Public Observatory is a public facility in Berg am Laim where visitors can observe stars and distant galaxies through telescopes. The complex includes viewing areas and a planetarium where guests learn about the structure and objects in the night sky.
Peter G. Westphal received permission on 22 August 1946 to run a "Himmelskundlicher Anschauungs- und Führungsdienst"; the first public guided tour followed on 31 May 1947, the date the association treats as its founding. On 21 July 1947 the name "Volkssternwarte München" was authorised, and on 26 October 1956 the non-profit association was entered in the register as Bayerische Volkssternwarte München e. V. The observatory occupies a former air-raid bunker on Rosenheimer Straße in Berg am Laim.
The name "Volkssternwarte" signals its purpose: a people's observatory open to all. Public tours run Monday to Friday evenings, with special children's tours every Friday, and more than 20 plain-language lectures a year, some given by outside speakers such as Harald Lesch and Rudolf Kippenhahn. Members also use the large telescopes for their own observing and meet weekly to grind mirrors and build telescopes.
Visitors should plan evening visits when the sky is dark enough for proper observation. The planetarium offers a good backup activity if weather conditions prevent outdoor viewing.
The 80-cm mirror telescope, in use since May 2004 and inaugurated by Munich's mayor Christian Ude on 13 January 2005, is among Germany's largest telescopes open to the public. Members used it to capture their first image of the ISS on 2 July 2005.
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