The Leiden Observatory ( Dutch Sterrewacht Leiden , observatory code "013" and "512" ) is an astronomical observatory in the city of Leiden ( Netherlands ).
It was opened by Leiden University in 1633 and is the oldest existing university observatory in the world (before that, medieval universities taught astronomy mainly in theoretical terms and observations were made using private equipment , not university equipment .
The original building reserved for the observatory is no longer used for astronomical observations; in 1860 the Leiden Observatory moved to Witte Singel, and in 1974 to the northwestern part of the city center. The astronomical department ( Sterrewacht Leiden ) is the largest in the Netherlands; It is world famous and is used for research in a wide range of astronomical disciplines.
Prominent astronomers and physicists such as Willem de Sitter , Jan Oort , Einar Herzsprung , and Jacobus Kaptein worked at the observatory.
In 1938, the Leiden South Station was opened in South Africa. She worked for 40 years.