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Eise Eisinga Planetarium, Franeker

4.8

#2 of 52 in Museums in Friesland Province

Science Museum Museum Must See

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The Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium is an 18th-century orrery in Franeker, Friesland, Netherlands. It is currently a museum and open to the public. The orrery has been on the top 100 Dutch heritage sites list since 1990 and in December 2011 was nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site candidate. It is the oldest working orrery in the world.HistoryThe orrery was built from 1774 to 1781 by Eise Eisinga.It is listed as a Rijksmonument, number 15668.The orrery was nominated 12 December 2011 by the Dutch government for UNESCO World Heritage status, based on its long history as a working planetarium open to the public and its continued efforts to preserve its heritage.OrreryAn orrery is a planetarium, a working model of the solar system. The "face" of the model looks down from the ceiling of what used to be his living room, with most of the mechanical works in the space above the ceiling. It is driven by a pendulum clock, which has 9 weights or ponds. The planets move around the model in real time, automatically. (A slight "re-setting" must be done by hand every four years to compensate for the February 29th of a leap year.) The planetarium includes a display for the current time and date. The plank that has the year numbers written on it has to be replaced every 22 years.

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Eise Eisinga Planetarium Reviews

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TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

341 reviews

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4.7

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4.7

126 likes

• By TheBoxonIce

  Bring your kids or find the scientist in your self. This amazing small museum will impress you how accurate the machine was build and still working fine. A timeless experience.  more »

• By maaikev502

  Impressive handmade planetarium in the livingroom of a 18th century house. I would recommend a short visit around an hour.  more »

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• By Augusto Raaijmakers

  Eise Eisinga realized the oldest still working planetarium in the world. He created this on the ceiling of his living space. Its worth the trip to this Frisian village.

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• By Deef Vink

  With the home build planetarium as basis but also a lot more to see about clocks, sextant, planets, sunclocks, etc.

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