Category of Astronomical Heritage: tangible immovable
Real Observatorio Astronómico de Madrid, Spain

Description

Geographical position

Real Observatorio Astronómico de Madrid, Villanueva Building, in Buen Retiro Park, Calle Alfonso XII, 3, 28014 Madrid, Spain

Location

Latitude 40.408571 N, Longitude 3.687606 W, Elevation ...m above mean sea level.

IAU observatory code

990

Description of (scientific/cultural/natural) heritage

Fig. 1a,b. Real Observatorio Astronómico de Madrid (Wikipedia 3, Fanattiq, Wikipedia)

The Real Observatorio Astronómico de Madrid on a hill next to the Buen Retiro Park was founded in 1790 by King Carlos IV (1748--1819), King of Spain, 1788 to 1808. The Spanish architect Juan de Villanueva (1739--1811) together with Ventura Rodríguez (1717--1785) constructed the Madrid observatory in Neoclassical style in the shape of a Greek cross with four wings of equal length. The domed lantern gives the impression of a classical round temple.

Activities at the Observatory resumed in 1845, and the construction of the building was completed in 1846 under the orders of the architect Narciso Pascual Colomer (1808--1870).

Fig. 2a,b. Real Observatorio Astronómico de Madrid, Foucault Pendulum in the central rotunda (Wikipedia 4, Benjamín Núñez González)

The building has three major parts: A Foucault Pendulum is located in the central rotunda - this pendulum illustrates the daily rotation of the earth - and the collection of instruments, the Repsold meridian circle (1854) and the impressive library, with numerous valuable books. In addition, in the Earth and Universe Sciences Room a wonderful collection of Astronomy, Geodesy and Geophysical instruments from the 19th and 20th centuries can be found.

The research institutes, the Astronomical Observatory and the Central Observatory for Geophysics (Instituto Geográfico Nacional is founded in 1870), are both administered by the National Geographic Institute (via its department of Astronomía, Geofísica y Aplicaciones Espaciales).

History

Fig. 3a. Azimuth circle, Utzschneider & Liebherr of Munich (c. 1800) (Wikipedia 3, Luis García)

Fig. 3b. Reflecting circle, Franco de Lorenzo (c. 1800) (Wikipedia 3, Luis García)

Instruments

25-foot reflecting telescope (60cm aperture) by William Herschel (1804),
which was destroyed in 1808 during the Napoleonic occupation, but it is restored.
Pendulum clocks
Azimuth circle, Utzschneider & Liebherr of Munich (c. 1840)
Reflecting circle, Franco de Lorenzo (c. 1800)
Meridian circle, Repsold of Hamburg (1854)
Foucault pendulum in the centre rotunda illustrates the daily rotation of the earth
Equatorial telescope, made by Howard Grubb of Dublin (1912)
Spectroheliograph (1911), cf. Spectroheliograph in Ebro Observatory in Tortosa, Catalonia (1908)

Fig. 4. Meridian circle, Repsold of Hamburg (1854) (Wikipedia 4, Benjamín Núñez González)

State of preservation

Fig. 5. Real Observatorio Astronómico de Madrid (Wikipedia 3, Carlos Ramón Bonilla)

The Real Observatorio Astronómico de Madrid is a Spanish Property of Cultural Interest, a Monument, designated in 1995, Reference no. RI-51-0009078.

In addition, it is part of the ensemble "Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro, a landscape of Arts and Sciences" on the Unesco World Heritage List (Dossier: 1618, Inscription: 2021, (ii)(iv)(vi)).

Comparison with related/similar sites

It is a representative building in neoclassical style - in the layout of a Greek cross --
like Turku (1819), Berlin, New Observatory (1835), Bonn (1844), Athens (1846), and much later Quito (1873), as well as Vienna University Observatory (1883).

Threats or potential threats

no threats

Present use

The Real Observatorio Astronómico de Madrid is now used as Royal Observatory Museum with a remarkable collection of scientific instruments.

Astronomical relevance today

In the north-east of Madrid near Guadalajar, the Yebes Observatory provides the RT 40-m-radio telescope, two smaller radio telescopes, a solar tower, an astrograph and a Gravimeter.
High quality observations can be made in the Canary Islands, the second-best location for optical and infrared astronomy in the Northern Hemisphere (after Hawaii).