Sternwarte

Sternwarte stands on Stuttgart’s Uhlandshöhe as an astronomical observatory, where visitors can look beyond the city’s lights. Public tours have taken place there since 1920.

Construction followed the 1919 founding of the Schwäbische Sternwarte association by astronomer and author Robert Henseling. The war interrupted activities until September 1947. Six telescopes serve the site, including four permanently mounted instruments and a seven-inch Zeiss telescope from 1911.

That Zeiss instrument is among the last of its kind. A newer seven-inch refractor and a special H-alpha telescope accompany a sixteen-inch Newtonian used for research. Researchers observe minor-planet star occultations with the Newtonian, sharing those observations with a Japanese institute. Special filters help observers work beneath Stuttgart’s urban light pollution, while weather permitting, the Moon, planets and deep-sky objects become visible.

City: Stuttgart
Content updated: 2026-06-22

Image: ReqEngineer CC BY-SA 2.5
Image: ESO, European Southern Observatory CC BY 4.0
Image: Apollo 8 crewmember Bill AndersPublic domain
Image: NASA/JPLPublic domain
Image: NASA, ESA, J. Hester and A. Loll (Arizona State University)Public domain

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