Alte Sternwarte, 20th-century university observatory in Gievenbeck, Münster, Germany

The Alte Sternwarte is a rectangular stone building with a central dome designed for astronomical observations and research. The structure features specially positioned windows and openings that allow direct views of the sky for tracking celestial bodies.

The Alte Sternwarte was built in 1968 on Horstmarer Landweg 248 in the Gievenbeck district, outside Münster's city centre, to train students in astronomy. A student dormitory completed nearby in 1972–1974 cast shade and shed night light on the site, and work stopped in the early 1980s, when the university's astronomers moved to the Hoher List Observatory in the Eifel. In the early 1990s the building became a guesthouse for visiting scientists; after its last guest left in 2015, the Institute of Planetology began preparing it for observations again from 2017.

The building's name, Alte Sternwarte, marks its former role as the university observatory; after 2015 it stood empty until the Institute of Planetology prepared it for observations again from 2017. Today Harald Hiesinger and Iris Weber, with Jasper Gerdes, are renewing its technical equipment using quality-improvement funds from North Rhine-Westphalia.

The building is typically accessible only through guided tours arranged by Münster University. It's worth checking in advance since visits depend on the academic calendar and staff availability.

The observatory's dome was equipped with a sliding roof section that protected the telescopes from weather while allowing quick access to the sky. This system allowed astronomers to work flexibly and efficiently.