The abbey of munsterschwarzach has been donated an observatory. Last saturday this was blessed with an internal celebration, communicates the abbey. The offer had been received by monastery astronomer benedictine father christoph gerhard last september.
From the abbey’s point of view, the timing of the gift could not have been better. In the course of the general renovation of the egbert-gymnasium munsterschwarzach (EGM), the construction of an observatory for teaching was planned anyway. After the structural work began in april 2019, the observatory could be dismantled and transported to its old location in may.
"I don’t know what i did to deserve this," says gerhard, who has been operating the telescope since july. "But i also see it as a clear task for us to make good use of the observatory."How this will be done in cooperation with the egbert-gymnasium is still in the planning stage. In any case, it will be used in gerhard’s courses, which he will hold on the subject of "astronomy and faith".
Monastic science
Behind the monastery observatory are the benedictine fathers christoph gerhard and maximilian grund, both of whom are active in the administration of the abbey. For many years, the ancient monastic science of astronomy has been practiced on the monastery grounds with its own observatory. It is not only a hobby, but also pays its connection with the faith and a lived creation spirituality. Gerhard has already written about this in four books. An astronomy calendar with the best photographs is also published every year.