Sonnenborgh Observatory – Utrecht, Netherlands - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

Sonnenborgh Observatory

Utrecht, Netherlands

A historic observatory now an astronomy museum beautifully situated at the moat of the Middle Age city centre. 

View all photos
132
485
Top Places in Utrecht
Museum Speelklok
Museum Speelklok
Utrecht, Netherlands
Rietveld-Schröder House
Utrecht, Netherlands
Poem With No End
Utrecht, Netherlands
 See All
This entry is a stub
Help improve Atlas Obscura by expanding Sonnenborgh Observatory with additional information or photos.

The building was originally intended as a bulwark to defend the city in the 16th century. In the 19th century, a meteorological and astronomical observatory was instituted here and the start of the Dutch Royal Meteorological Institute (KNMI). The building is now a museum at the edge of the old city.

It is situated in a beautiful area of where canals and the surrounding park converge.

In 2019 the museum was awarded a prize for planning to make the collection accessible for the visually handicapped people.

 

Know Before You Go

Easy accesible by foot from the city centre. About a fifteen minute walk from Central Station.

astronomy space exploration museums
Nearby
Poem With No End
0.31 miles
Sint-Willibrordkerk
0.31 miles
DOMunder Subterranean Ruins
0.51 miles
Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member.
Near This Place
The Letters of Utrecht, and the poem with no end.
Utrecht, Netherlands

Poem With No End

'The Letters of Utrecht' lays out a ribbon of poetry one letter at a time, with no final verse in sight.
Sint-Willibrordkerk
Utrecht, Netherlands

Sint-Willibrordkerk

A uniquely preserved neo-Gothic church that is now home to a collection of art and woodcarvings.
Utrecht, Netherlands

DOMunder Subterranean Ruins

Underground attraction offering tours of the foundational ruins of a church nave that collapsed in 1674.
Museum Speelklok
Utrecht, Netherlands

Museum Speelklok

This Netherlands museum holds a gloriously mechanical collection of ornate musical automata.
Related Places
Pereiaslav, Ukraine

Museum of Space Exploration

A century-old church is now a space museum with a treasure trove of Soviet space items.
Model of Skylab outside Esperance Museum.
Esperance, Australia

Skylab’s Remains

A tiny museum in Esperance, Australia, displays a bunch of space debris from NASA’s Skylab.
Space Murals Museum
Las Cruces, New Mexico

Space Murals Museum

The entire history of the U.S. Space Shuttle Program is painted on an enormous roadside water tank.
Potsdam, Germany

Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam

A historical observatory still in use by modern astronomers.
In partnership with KAYAK

Plan Your Trip

From Around the Web