Turnov Observatory

Turnov Observatory was built in the 1960s. However, its completion was delayed for a long time due to the August 1968 occupation, and so it wasn’t opened until 2 May 1974. From 1976 to 1986 the building was rented by the Astronomical Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, and then by the Physics Institute until 1992, with the building housing the Optical Development Workshop. After that, the observatory was sporadically used by the astronomy club at Turnov Grammar School, and gradually fell into disrepair.

In the summer of 2013 SUNDISK and Turnov town council came to an agreement on the lease, partial reconstruction and subsequent operation of the building for its original purpose. The ground floor of the main building now contains a small lecture hall for around 30 visitors, as well as sanitary facilities and three small rooms used by the observatory staff. On the first floor there is a dome six metres in diameter, from which a door leads to an observation terrace. The observatory is mainly used to popularise astronomy – it offers programmes and observation sessions for schools and the general public. The observatory, the only one open to the public in the Liberec region, is run by members of the Liberec Region Astronomers' Club – a branch of the Czech Astronomical Society. During interesting astronomical phenomena such as lunar or solar eclipses, the observatory tends to attract hundreds of visitors.