OBSERVATORY AND PLANETARIUM CESKE BUDEJOVICE - OBSERVATOIRE ET PLANETARIUM DE CESKE BUDEJOVICE

The observatory and planetarium of České Budějovice is located in a small park at the confluence of the Vltava and Malse rivers. It was inaugurated in 1937 and has remained the second oldest public observatory in the region since then, thanks in particular to the maintenance and restoration work carried out since then by the South Bohemian Astronomical Society. The part concerning the planetarium and the cinema is of course much more recent since it was completed in 1971. This observatory focuses primarily on the popularization of astronomy among the public, science courses for schools, as well as activities for children and adolescents. The instruments installed in the main dome allow the observation of the Sun as well as the bodies of the Solar System (planets). These are beautiful optical and mechanical parts manufactured by the engineer Viktor Rolcik in Prague around 1935 for the telescope, and by the German company G. & S. Merz Muenchen towards the end of the 19th century for the superb 15 cm diameter astronomical telescope, specialized in observing the Sun. The planetarium is just as interesting with its 8.5 m diameter dome and its classic but powerful projection system by Zeiss. It should be noted that a cinema is accessible to the public, in which one can attend conferences, audiovisual programmes, etc. The icing on the cake is that the park where all these beautiful people are located is really pleasant on sunny days to simply stroll around and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of the city.