 Uraniborg, Tycho Brahe's first astronomical observatory on Ven, built 1576-80 and dedicated to Urania 'The Muse of Astronomy'.
Uraniborg, Tycho Brahe's first astronomical observatory on Ven, built 1576-80 and dedicated to Urania 'The Muse of Astronomy'.
The main building of Uraniborg was square, about 15 meters on a side,  and built mostly of red brick. Two semi-circular towers, one each on  the north and south sides of the main building, giving the building a  somewhat rectangular shape overall. The main floor consisted of four  rooms, one of which was occupied by Tycho and his family, the other  three for visiting astronomers. The northern tower housed the kitchens,  and the southern a library. The second floor was divided into three  rooms, two of equal size and one larger. The larger room was reserved  for visiting royalty. On this level the towers housed the primary  astronomical instruments, accessed from outside the building or from  doors on this floor. Outrider towers, supported on pillars, housed  additional instruments slightly further from the building, giving them a  wider angle of view. On the third floor was a "loft", subdivided into  eight smaller rooms for students. Only the roofs of the towers reached  this level, although a single additional tower extended above the loft  in the middle of the building, similar to a widow's walk,  accessed via a spiral staircase from the 3rd floor. Uraniborg also  featured a large basement; it housed an alchemical laboratory in one  end, and storage for food, salt and fuel at the other.
 A large wall, 75 meters on a side and 5.5 meters high was planned to  surround Uraniborg, but never built, instead a high earth mound was  constructed and lasted until today being the only remain of the  observatory still in place. Uraniborg was located in the very middle,  with an extensive set of intricate gardens between the mound walls and  the building. In addition to being decorative, the gardens also supplied  herbs for the Tycho's medicinal chemistry experiments. The gardens are  currently being re-created, using seeds found on-site or identified in  Tycho's writings.