Founding of Pulkovo Observatory

The Pulkovo Observatory is the principal astronomical observatory of Russia, located on a hill south of Saint Petersburg. It was established by Tsar Nicholas I, and its first director was the German-born astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve, who equipped it with the best instruments of the day. Pulkovo became known for the accuracy of its star catalogues and was sometimes called the astronomical capital of the world in the nineteenth century. Struve also led the survey of a long meridian arc through Europe, and the Struve Geodetic Arc, a chain of survey points, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The buildings were destroyed in the Second World War during the siege of Leningrad and rebuilt afterwards.

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