Planetarium Köln
Cologne's first planetarium — a 1965 Zeiss projector in the basement of a Nippes secondary school, paired with an observatory built by students.
The Planetarium Köln is located in the Leonardo da Vinci Gymnasium in the Nippes district. In the school's basement, a Zeiss compact planetarium projects the night sky; the facility is complemented by its own observatory with domes on the school tower and flat roof.
At a Glance
- Type
- School planetarium with observatory, Cologne's first planetarium
- Location
- Leonardo da Vinci Gymnasium, Cologne-Nippes
- Projector
- Zeiss ZKP-1 compact planetarium, built 1965
- Observatory
- two domes, built by former students
- Group size
- shows for up to 30 people
- Access
- public guided tours and group visits by arrangement
A large part of the observatory – including the telescopes and domes – was built by former students in their spare time.
Things to do here
- Marvel at the night sky in the Zeiss small planetarium
- Discover over 5,000 stars and the Milky Way during a show
- Join a public tour of the planetarium and observatory
- Peer through the observatory's historic telescopes
- Explore the student-built domes on the school tower and roof
- Learn about the Zeiss projector from 1965
The Night Sky in the Basement
The ZKP-1 projector dates from 1965 and sits in the school basement. Its projection sphere contains either 32 or 38 individual projectors — sources differ — each fitted with a copper foil punched with a section of the star map. Together they recreate the sky above Cologne on a clear night, showing over 5,000 stars, the Milky Way, and the planets exactly as they would appear to the naked eye. Shows are designed for groups of up to 30 people.
The Observatory
Built between 1960 and 1963, the observatory comprises two domes: one on the school tower (4 m diameter) and one on the flat roof (5 m diameter). The tower houses a 40 cm (16-inch) reflecting telescope with a 2.4 m focal length, used for both visual and photographic observation; a TV camera allows bright objects to be shared with larger audiences in the planetarium below. The second dome holds a Zeiss AS refractor with a 110 mm aperture, compact enough for students to operate independently. An 8-inch Celestron Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope and a Schmidt camera round out the equipment.
Built by Students
Much of the facility — including the telescopes and domes — was constructed by former students in their spare time. Astronomy working groups have been active at the school since 1962. The long-serving director Hermann Gundermann (1938–2022) was succeeded by Stefan Nowak.
Timeline
- 1960–1963Observatory built by former students (domes and telescopes)
- 1962Astronomy working groups established at the Nippes school
- 1965Zeiss ZKP-1 small planetarium projector installed (built 1965)
Map
Blue dots: other places nearby — tap to explore.
Address
Blücherstraße 15
50733 Köln
Hours
Mi: 19:00–20:30
Sa: 17:30–19:00
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Sources & links
- Official website
- Wikidata (retrieved 2026-06-24)
- Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-06-24, rev 263248997)
- Official website (retrieved 2026-06-24)
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-27
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