Planetarium Jena - The Oldest Geodesic Dome - Jena, Germany
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Bernd das Brot Team
N 50° 55.900 E 011° 35.217
32U E 681779 N 5645413
The world's oldest geodesic dome.
Waymark Code: WMRJM0
Location: Thüringen, Germany
Date Posted: 06/29/2016
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member paul.nord
Views: 13

Construction of the dome in 1926
Source: Wikipedia
The dome in 2015
(our picture)

Wikipedia tells us, that "...the first dome that could be called "geodesic" in every respect was designed after World War I by Walther Bauersfeld, chief engineer of the Carl Zeiss optical company, for a planetarium to house his planetarium projector."

Bauersfeld first built a small, temporary dome on the roof of one of the Zeiss factory buildings in 1924. After the success of that display, other planetariums were built in the German towns Wuppertal, Leipzig and Düsseldorf. On July 18, 1926 the large Zeiss Planetarium, also called the Wonder of Jena opened.

The dome was later covered with rectangular concrete tiles, disguising its geodesic origin, but the internal structure - as shown in the historic picture of its construction - is indeed a geodesic dome derived from the icosahedron.

Since the three earlier planetariums were all destroyed in World War II, the dome of the Zeiss Planetarium in Jena is today the oldest geodesic dome still standing.

Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Geodesic Domes
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
Date Logged Log User Rating  
Eibacher Kuckuck visited Planetarium Jena - The Oldest Geodesic Dome - Jena, Germany 04/22/2024 Eibacher Kuckuck visited it
eilers1 visited Planetarium Jena - The Oldest Geodesic Dome - Jena, Germany 09/28/2019 eilers1 visited it
*Team Krombaer* visited Planetarium Jena - The Oldest Geodesic Dome - Jena, Germany 11/01/2017 *Team Krombaer* visited it
Uli001 visited Planetarium Jena - The Oldest Geodesic Dome - Jena, Germany 05/16/2016 Uli001 visited it

View all visits/logs