| Urania | |
|---|---|
Urania at night |
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| Location | Vienna, Austria |
| Established | 1910 |
| Website www.urania-sternwarte.at |
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The Palace Urania is a public educational institute and observatory in Vienna.
It was built according to the plans of Art Nouveau style architect Max Fabiani (a student of Otto Wagner) at the outlet of the Wien River and was opened in 1910 by Franz Joseph I of Austria as an educational facility with a public observatory. It was named after the Muse Urania who represents Astronomy.
During World War II, the Urania was severely damaged and the dome with the observatory was totally destroyed. After its reconstruction, it was reopened in 1957. The observatory itself has been continually improved technically over the years.
Presently the Urania also has seminar rooms in which wide-ranging classes and lectures are given, a movie theater that screens at the annual Viennale movie festival, and a puppet theater created originally by actor Hans Kraus.