National Observatory of Athens

• Landmark Historical Place
• Landmark & Historical Place

The National Observatory of Athens is a research institute in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest research foundation in Greece, as it was the first scientific research institute built after Greece became independent in 1829, and one of the oldest research institutes in Southern Europe.History1842: FoundationAround 1840, the national benefactor, Baron Georgios Sinas, ambassador in Vienna, expressed his intention to make a donation for science development in Greece. He took advice from his friend, the Austrian ambassador in Athens Prokesch-Osten, who knew the Greek-Austrian physicist and astronomer Georg Constantin Bouris. Bouris became the first director of Athens Observatory, and was also involved in the construction of its first building.The first building and instrumentsThe first building, known as Sinas building, was based on a project presented by Eduard Schaubert and designed by the Danish architect Theophil Hansen, it was the first building of the later famous Hansen. The cross-like neoclassic building has its sides oriented toward the four directions of the horizon. There is a small dome for a telescope in the center of the construction. The building was completed in 1846.