Riesenfernrohr © SPB / Foto: O. Kwok

The Great Refractor 

The Great Refractor

Guided tour

The trademark of the Archenhold-Sternwarte is a proud 126 years of age. The Treptow giant telescope was built in 1896 on the occasion of the Berlin trade exhibition and, with a focal length of 21 metres and a lens diameter of 680 millimetres, is the longest fully movable refracting telescope in the world. Popularly known as the »sky cannon,« the colossus weighs a total of 130 tonnes and is one of the ten most powerful refracting telescopes in the world.

We explain how the telescope and the observatory came to be built, and you will learn about the eventful history of the building. We then show how the impressive telescope works using the movable model in the observatory.

Photo: © SPB / Photo: O. Kwok

Information

60 min | ages 8 and up | Tickets 9,50 € / 7,50 €

The following tickets are only available on site at the cash desk and cannot be booked in the online shop: Family tickets, group discounts, discounted / free tickets within the framework of cooperations (e. g. Berlin Family Pass) and tickets for wheelchair users and their accompanying persons (since there are designated seats for safety reasons). Unfortunately, it is not possible to refund differences resulting from the purchase of regular online tickets. Therefore, please reserve the relevant tickets in advance via our ticket hotline.

Unfortunately, family tickets are not available for cinema films, music and special events, and no discounts apply within the framework of cooperations (e. g. Berlin Family Pass).

Ticket hotline 
+ 49 (30) 421 845 10
ticket@planetarium.berlin

All information concerning discounted tickets and free admission can be found here.

You can find further information about your visit here.

Giant Telescope
Languages:
  • De

Please note that this programme is currently only available in German.

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