Stjerneborg Observatory

Tycho Brahe's star castle

Nobleman Tycho Brahe was one of the foremost astronomers of the pre-telescopic age. His underground observatory on the Danish island of Hvaena was shielded from the wind, allowing him and his assistants to measure the stars accurately using a variety of instruments. Tycho called the observatory Stjerneborg, or ‘star castle’. Data from his observations were later used to develop the laws of planetary motion that supported Copernicus’s theory of a Sun-centred universe.