Cheomseongdae

35.836394129.221749Koordinaten: 35 ° 50 '11 "N, 129 ° 13' 18" O

The Cheomseongdae observatory in Gyeongju (South Korea) is the oldest surviving observatory in East Asia. It was built during the reign of Queen Seondeok ( reigned 632-647 ) and served the observation of the stars to make weather predictions. Each layer consists of 12 stones, which probably symbolize the months. In total there are 30 layers one above the other; one for each day of the month. Overall, the observatory consists of 366 stones.

Its base has a length of 5.7 m, the height is 9.4 m. The tower is filled inside to the opening on the south wall with soil. Probably the access via a ladder from the outside was. Inside there might have been a rise up to the upper platform. It is not clear whether the tower for astronomical observations was used or rather served ritual and astrological purposes.

On 20 December 1962, the Cheomseongdae Observatory was declared a national treasure number 31. The area of Gyeongju part because of the numerous finds from the Silla Dynasty, since 2000 a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• National Treasure of South Korea
• Building in South Korea
• Gyeongsangbuk -do
• Silla Dynasty
• Historic observatory
• World Heritage Site (Asia and Oceania)
• Built in the 7th century