Geophysical Observatory Fürstenfeldbruck

On the initiative of the Royal Society and with royal support, the Geomagnetic Observatory was opened on August 1, 1840, on the grounds of the Royal Observatory in Bogenhausen. This marked the start of systematic measurements of geomagnetism in Munich.

Based on extensive measurements he took throughout Bavaria and beyond using a travel theodolite he developed himself, Johann von Lamont created the first detailed map of Bavaria's magnetic field. This was a milestone in geomagnetic field research.

After a ten-year hiatus, magnetic measurements resumed in the spring of 1896. New buildings were constructed on the observatory grounds, and Franz von Schwarz, a student of Lamont's, was appointed to head the renovated observatory.

In 1905, a building specially equipped for seismic observations was erected on the grounds of the Royal Observatory in Munich-Bogenhausen, and a seismological station was put into operation. A Wiechert seismograph continuously recorded microseismic registrations there until 1944, laying the foundation for earthquake research in Bavaria. Even the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was recorded.

After five years of closure, Friedrich Burmeister took over the observatory. However, increasing development around the observatory and the conversion of the tram to electric operation disrupted the measurements so severely that the recordings of the Earth's magnetic field in Bogenhausen became unusable.

In the decades that followed, Munich's industrialization increasingly caused technical problems for the operation of the geomagnetic observatory. Under Friedrich Burmeister (1919–1957), the Munich observatory was closed. From 1927 to 1937, geomagnetic observatory operations were maintained in Maisach, a village 25 km west of Munich.

A rented, deep summer cellar beneath a brewery made it possible to resume variation measurements in 1931. Solid pillars for variometers were installed here, which significantly improved the data quality of the provisional observations.

The measurements in Maisach were discontinued on October 31, 1937. The construction of a large military airfield near Maisach forced the observatory to relocate once again. After years of effort, the construction of the new observatory in Fürstenfeldbruck was approved in 1937. Upon its completion in 1938, it was separated from the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and affiliated with the Department of Astronomy at LMU.

On January 1, 1939, measurement operations resumed at the new location in Fürstenfeldbruck. Since then, recordings of the Earth's magnetic field and its variations have been continued without interruption, resulting in a valuable long-term data series.

The recording of earthquakes and the entire seismological service in Bavaria had to be discontinued as early as 1943 as a result of the war, increased air raids, and staff shortages.

The observatory expanded its scope in 1961: with the commissioning of an earthquake monitoring station and a seismological station, regular earthquake monitoring operations were resumed and the observatory became a comprehensive geophysical research facility. After being shut down due to the war, regular operation of the earthquake monitoring station resumed in 1961 at the Fürstenfeldbruck site. The observatory now housed the new FUR seismic station and began systematically recording earthquakes, laying the foundation for the modern Bavarian earthquake service.

The Bavarian network, a comprehensive network of earthquake stations, was established in 2001. The installation of 15 new stations and the retrofitting of eight old stations significantly improved and digitized earthquake monitoring in Bavaria, enabling more precise and comprehensive observation. Learn more

Another technological milestone was reached in 2017 when the tetrahedral ring laser RoMY (ROtational Motions in seismologY) was put into operation. This state-of-the-art instrument enables precise measurements of rotational movements and significantly expands the observatory's research capabilities.