SOCIÉTÉ VAUDOISE D’ASTRONOMIE - OBSERVATOIRE DE LAUSANNE

It all began in 1926 when the Institute of Astronomy of the University of Lausanne proposed the construction of a professional observatory on the Pontaise site, next to the stadium, now the Pontaise Olympic Stadium. At that time, the place was rural and enjoyed a good quality sky. It was not until 1942 that the Société vaudoise d'Astronomie was created, which quickly initiated the construction of another observatory next to the site on which the first one was to be built. It was inaugurated at the beginning of 1943 and has a 4 m diameter dome that will soon house a 210 mm telescope. Paradoxically, the university observatory was not built until later, in 1949, and in 1969, it even became the property of the Société Vaudoise d'Astronomie, which renovated the buildings and installed a new 300 mm diameter telescope, then a splendid 162 mm telescope, the Antonini telescope, which ended up reduced to ashes following an arson attack in 1979 ! In 1980, everything had to be rebuilt, and a new dome was installed. The life of this observatory is definitely far from being a long quiet river, especially since today another major change is about to take place... Indeed, the Pontaise district should soon undergo a major transformation, forcing the observatory to move - definitively - probably to Chalet-à-Gobet, a few kilometres north-east of Lausanne. In the meantime, you can still enjoy its infrastructure in Lausanne itself, with a main building with a meeting room, and a dome 5 m in diameter inside which the observation evenings take place (a 400 mm telescope is in operation). Another, smaller building, called the Walsch Pavilion, is specifically designed for observing the Sun. It houses a restored 1930 Zeiss bezel from 1930. Finally, another dome houses other instruments used according to needs and circumstances.