The history of the observatory library at {\O}stervold in Copenhagen, Denmark

TL;DR

This paper traces the history and evolution of the observatory library at {d8}stervold in Copenhagen, highlighting its significance from the 17th century through its closure and subsequent fate.

Contribution

It provides a detailed historical account of the observatory library at {d8}stervold, including its development, usage, and eventual closure, filling a gap in the history of astronomical resources.

Findings

The library was central to Copenhagen's astronomical research for centuries.

The observatory and its library were closed in 1996, with the library's fate documented.

Historical insights into the library's role in Danish astronomy.

Abstract

About fifty years after the work that astronomer Tycho Brahe carried out while living on the island of Hven had made him world famous, King Christian IV of Denmark built the Trinity Buildings in Copenhagen. The Tower observatory was opened in 1642, and it housed the astronomers from the University of Copenhagen until 1861 when a new, modern observatory was built at {\O}stervold in the eastern part of the city. In 1996, all the University astronomers from the observatories at {\O}stervold and the small town of Brorfelde were relocated to the Rockefeller Buildings at {\O}sterbro, and the two observatories were closed. In this paper we focus on the library at the observatory in {\O}stervold, and its subsequent fate following the close-down of that observatory.