The Würzburg Telescope next to the former Planetron in Dwingeloo has been given the status of a provincial monument. This type of telescope was used to track the enemy during the Second World War and later to map the spiral shape of the Milky Way in the 1950s.
There are only three of the model left in the Netherlands. During the war years, the Würzburg Telescope served as a radar antenna as part of the German defense line along the coast. While most German radar installations were put into melting furnaces after the liberation of the Netherlands, telescopes were also assembled from parts.
The conversion of the radar installations was very successful, because in 1951 the spiral shape of the Milky Way was observed with the Würzburg telescope. The Americans had already discovered this six weeks earlier, but the Dutch measurements were much more detailed. That success provided the impetus to build the large radio telescope in Dwingeloo for further research of the Milky Way.
“The cultural-historical value of the object is great,” reports the province of Drenthe about the Würzburg Telescope. “Both for the history of the Second World War and for the rise and flourishing of astronomy in the Netherlands and specifically in Drenthe. The development of radio astronomy in the area is an important part of the story of Drenthe.”
The telescope is now owned by Planetron BV, which includes Marketing Drenthe, Stichting Phusis and Recreatieschap Drenthe. “We have submitted an application because we think it is a very special thing at this location,” says architect Bas van Ruth. “Now it is clear to the outside world.”
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