Ondřejov Observatory

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Observatory at night with dome open.
Observatory at night with dome open.
Location of Ondřejov Observatory in the Czech Republic
Location of Ondřejov Observatory in the Czech Republic

The Ondřejov Observatory (IPA: [ˈondr̝ɛjof]; Observatoř Ondřejov in Czech) is the principal observatory of the Astronomical Institute (Astronomický ústav) of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. It is located near the village of Ondřejov, 35 km southeast of Prague.

The facility was constructed in 1898 by Czech amateur astronomer Josef Jan Frič as a private observatory. Frič donated the facility to the Czechoslovak state on 28 October 1928, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its independence. The observatory, located at an altitude of 500 m, away from the air and light pollution of urban Prague, was administered by Charles University until the founding of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in 1953, which from then on operated it as part of its Astronomical Institute in conjunction with other Czechoslovak observatories.

It has been responsible, amongst other scientific achievements, for the discovery of numerous asteroids.

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