Berlin Observatory
The construction of the new Berlin Observatory proceeded from a cabinet order of 10 November 1830 according to the design of Schinkel. An approximately one hectare plot was acquired at a price of 15,000 Thalers in the present-day area of Berlin-Kreuzberg. The foundation stone was laid on 22 October 1832 and the observatory was ready by 1835, on the area currently bounded by the streets ″Friedrichstraße″, ″Besselstraße″ and ″Lindenstraße″. The southern end of the ″Charlottenstraße″ was later named ″Enckeplatz″ in honor of the director at that time and the observatory acquired the address of Enckeplatz 3 A (now: ″Enckestraße 11″).
Østervold Observatory
The first astronomical observatory operated by the University of Copenhagen was Rundetårn. It had been inaugurated in 1642 as a replacement for Tycho Brahe's Stjerneborg, but during the early 19th century had become outdated as astronomical instruments grew bigger and bigger while the tower could not be expanded. In the same time, light pollution from the surrounding city as well as vibrations caused by the still increasing traffic in the streets below had made the observations inaccurate.
In 1861 the observatory was moved to Østervold, where a new observatory was constructed on the old bastioned fortifications of the city, which had become outdated and were being disabandonned. The well-known Russian-German astronomer, Heinrich Louis d'Arrest, who had been appointed professor in astronomy at the university in 1857, was chosen to plan the new observatory. He used the observatory for his study of nebulas, in 1867 publishing an astronomical catalogue of 1.942 nebulas with 4.900 positions. He also did significant work in spectroscopy, and discovered, for the first time, the differences in the evolutionary state and spatial distribution of stars. While d'Arrest used the main telescope, observer H. C. F. C. Schjellerup used the Meridian circle for creating one of the most comprehensive astronomical catalogues of the time of stars of the 8th-9th magnitude: 10,000 positions on 259 observation nights.