Tycho Brahe Museum, Ven
- Details
Scientific fields: Astronomy, Cosmology, Archaeology
Star rating: ****
Summary description:
The museum depicts the life of the famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) and his place in scientific history, at the location where he made most of his astronomical observations. It consists of two main exhibits – one in a partially underground observatory, the other in a converted church – and features replica instruments, multimedia presentations and archaeological finds. These do an excellent job of conveying what it must have been like to spend night after night in the chill of Scandinavia, squinting through huge, unwieldy instruments and recording astronomical data. Fleshing out the museum is a reconstructed mediaeval garden and a physic play exhibit. You can also see the dams Brahe constructed to power mills used to make paper for his publications.
Location:
Island of Ven (or Hven) in Öresund Strait between Sweden and Denmark.
Getting there:
Ven is served by ferries from Landskrona in Sweden (year round) and in summer from Copenhagen and Helsingor in Denmark, and from Helsingborg in Sweden. The island is easily explored in a day on foot and bike. Bicycles can be hired from the ferry ports.
Background:
Brahe worked on Ven from 1576 to 1597, turning it into a centre for scientific research. His special place in the history of science derives from his catalogue of astronomical observations, which remained the most accurate available for several centuries. His data were recorded largely by naked eye, though with the help of quadrants and sextants. Johannes Kepler (see Kepler Museum, Weil der Stadt) used Brahe’s data to formulate his laws of planetary motion. Brahe's first work described a supernova, thus disproving the constancy of the Universe. He was also a pioneer in the development of scientific research groups, assembling a group of intellectual equals (rather than technicians) and including women in his team.
The Tycho Brahe Museum has two main exhibits. One is the Stjärneborg observatory (see below left), which Brahe built partially underground (out of the wind) to keep himself warm. 
Although this has a new copper roof, the stone foundations are authentic. A visit to the observatory is illustrated by a multimedia production that explains Brahe’s views on the Universe, and the practicalities of how he and his colleagues took measurements. The second exhibit is housed in a converted church (All Saints Church, see below) and includes reconstructions of Brahe’s quadrants and sextants, and two original instruments from Stjärneborg, renovated by Czech craftsmen. These can all be examined closely by visitors and are explained in English, Swedish, Danish and German.
Opening hours and charges:
The museum is open from mid April to the end of September, 10 am to 4 pm. From the end of June to mid August it closes two hours later, at 6 pm. It is also open at weekends in October. Groups are welcome to book visits all year round. (Telephone: 46 418 72 530). Entrance fees (2010): Adults SEK 50; Children up to 15 accompanied by adult free; Groups of 10 or more 40 SEK each.
Website: www.tychobrahe.com
Related sites (partial list at present):
Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, Northern Ireland
Copernicus Museum, Frombork, Poland
Jantar Mantar Observatory, Jaipur, India
Jodrell Bank Observatory, Cheshire, England
Kepler Museum, Weil der Stadt, Germany
Herschel Museum of Astronomy, Bath, England
Museo Galileo, Florence, Italy
Mount John Observatory, South Island, New Zealand
Mount Wilson Observatory, California, USA
Palomar Observatory, California, USA
Parkes Radio Telescope, New South Wales, Australia
Reber Radio Telescope, West Virginia, USA
Royal Observatory, Greenwich, England