UG buildings: the former Astronomy Laboratory

The University as we know it now is more than the Academy Building alone. In this series, based on the podwalk and the Dutch booklet In the footsteps of the Academy , we will put the spotlight on various buildings—and a work of art—of the UG and their history. In this episode: the former Astronomy Laboratory.

In the square, on the left side of the Academy Building, there is a building that is connected to the heart of the University via a walkway. At this time, this building houses offices of University Services staff, but in the past, there was a laboratory located here where academic research was conducted.

In 1866, the Physiology Laboratory arose here, which was considered a state-of-the-art building at the time. This appreciation had already dwindled thirty years later, and the facility moved to the east side of the city, where they placed the medical faculty and where the UMCG is located nowadays. In 1896, the internationally famous astronomer Jacobus Kapteyn was able to accommodate his Astronomy Lab in the vacated building. The UG’s astronomy department, named Kapteyn Institute after him, moved from the city centre to the Zernike campus in 1970.

After the astronomers left, the building was used for other purposes, such as housing the regional Study Centre of the Open University and the UG’s Personnel Department. In 1988, a fire caused irreparable damage to the building, which was over 120 years old. After this, the current building with the walkway and the car park were built.

A fun detail can be spotted in the Guichardsgang, the alley to the side of this property. At a height of about five metres, a cannon ball is bricked into the wall. Legend has it that it ended up in this place in 1672 during the Siege of Groningen by Bommen Berend. The projectile punched a hole in the roof of the former University building without doing a lot of damage. The accompanying plaque now reads: ‘Bij vroeger krijgsgedruis kwam ik op deze plaats terecht in ’t vorig huis’ [During a former clash of arms I ended up in this place in the previous building].

Want to find out more?

Check out the previous edition on

• The Academy Building

• The Ubbo Emmius monument

• The University Library
• The Röling Building
• The former Laboratory for Hygiene

Are you interested in the buildings and history of the UG? You can download the podwalk ‘In the footsteps of the Academy’ for free. Go to the App Store (Apple) or Google Play (Android) and search for ‘Op stap met Aletta’. The walking route is also available as a book from the I-Shop (University shop).