Planetarium History

Planetarium in Barmen (Wuppertal) | ZEISS Archive

Barmen was the first city where the projection unit of the new design went into operation

Planetarium in Barmen (Wuppertal)

The Planetarium in Barmen opened in 1926 © ZEISS Archive

Soon after the demonstrations of the Zeiss Planetarium in 1924, large German cities decided to build structures to house planetariums. Most of them opted for domes with large diameters. The first planetarium buildings appeared similar in design, although each already had individual architectural features. 

Today's Wuppertal (Barmen district) won the race to be the first planetarium after Munich. It was here that the first projection unit of the new design, today known as Model II, went into operation. Located in the middle of a park, a wide flight of steps led to the entrance doors of the imposing building. With a dome diameter of 24.6 meters and a capacity of 600 people, it was, like many of the first planetarium buildings, a bit too spacious. The inauguration of the Barmen Planetarium took place on May 18, 1926 but it, unfortunately, shared the fate of most of the first planetariums in Germany at the time. In 1943, it was damaged during the air raids on Wuppertal, and in the post-war period, the building structure had deteriorated visibly so that the ruins were demolished in 1955.

Credit:

ZEISS Archive

About the Image

Image ID

czj1846

Category

Planetarium History

Release

1932

Related product

n.a.

Size

7750 x 5250 px

Author

Hansa-Luftbild

Source

ZEISS Archive

Credit

ZEISS Archive

License

CC BY-NC-SA

About the Content

Title

Barmen Planetarium

Object

Today's Wuppertal (Barmen district) won the race for the first planetarium after Munich. It was here that the first projection unit of the new design, today known as Model II, went into operation on 18 May 1926.

Location

Wuppertal, Germany

Keywords

zeiss planetarium, planetarium history, barmen, wuppertal

Date

Sep 1932

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