Bucharest Observatory

The Bucharest Observatory is an astronomical observatory located at no. 21 Lascăr Catargiu Boulevard, Bucharest, Romania. It is Bucharest's only observatory open to the public.

History
The observatory was built between 1908 and 1910, for Admiral Vasile Urseanu, president of the Romanian Astronomical Society "Camille Flammarion". It was equipped with a 150 mm diameter Zeiss telescope with a focal length of 2.7 meters; the telescope was the third largest in Romania at the time. Ion D. Berindey was the architect.

The observatory founded by Urseanu was frequented by amateur astronomers; professional researchers worked at the Bucharest Astronomical Observatory, founded by Nicolae Coculescu and located on Filaret Hill in Carol Park. Following the death of Admiral Urseanu in 1926, the telescope was dismantled and stored in the basement of the building. In 1933 Urseanu's widow donated the building to the municipality of Bucharest which used it as a pinacotheca. In 1949 the paintings were transferred to other museums. In April 1950 the telescope was relocated to the dome and the building returned to its original purpose as an astronomical observatory. In 1990 the observatory was dedicated to its founder and took the name Astronomical Observatory Admiral Vasile Urseanu. The Urseanu House is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.