Last year I attended a conference in Copenhagen and while I was there I wanted to visit Tycho Brahe's observatory. For those who don't know, Tycho Brahe is considered to be one of the greatest astronomical observers in history, particularly in the pre-telescope era in which he lived, and he made many notable contributions to astronomy, including reporting on the 1572 supernova that now bears his name.
In 1576 he constructed an observatory called Uraniborg, which was apparently very impressive. It was built on the island of Hven in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Denmark, and I was interested in visiting the observatory to see what remained. Unfortunately, as I found out, the observatory doesn't exist any more, which is a great shame. Luckily for me though I was at least able to bring some part of Hven home with me when I found out that the island is now home to a gin distillery, and since my wife enjoys gin I was able to find a bottle in a Copenhagen liquor store and bring her a bottle home. I'm told it's very good, Tycho would have been proud!
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| Hven gin, made on the island that was once home to Tycho Brahe's observatory. |
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