Specula Cremifanensis

From the photographer: “Construction for the ‘mathmatical tower’ of the Kremsmunster Abbey (founded in the year 77 A.D.) started in 1748 and finished ten years later. The building is 49 meters high and houses a universal museum, including departments on geology, mineralogy, paleontology, botany, zoology, anthropology, physics and arts. The tower is topped by the astronomical observatory with two large observing platforms on the sixth floor, including a chapel and three observatory domes (on the seventh floor). Meteorological observations started in 1762 and continue to this day. The Kremsmunster Observatory boasts the longest uninterrupted line of meteorological records, covering nearly 250 years. The first director of the ‘specula astronomica cremifanensis’ was Placidus Fixlmillner (1721-1791), well known for his calculation of the orbit of the then newly discovered planet Uranus, and his precise determination of the distance between Earth and the sun, based on observations collected world-wide during the transit of Venus in 1769.” – © Herbert Raab