Wiechert Earthquake Station

Home to the world's oldest working seismograph

The Wiechert Earthquake Station, on the wooded Hainberg hill east of the city, was established in 1899 by the physicist Emil Wiechert as the first dedicated seismological observatory in Germany. The original instruments are still in place and still working — the 17-ton vertical-pendulum seismograph is the oldest of its kind anywhere.

The station is run by the university and opens for guided tours on weekends and by appointment; check the institute's website for current times. The walk up from the city centre takes about 40 minutes through the Stadtwald.

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Emil Wiechert designed the original astatic pendulum seismograph here in 1899. The 17-tonne and 1.3-tonne instruments built in the years that followed have been recording earthquakes continuously ever since — making this the oldest working seismograph station in the world. The four-tonne steel ball used to calibrate the system is dropped on request for visiting groups, producing a small artificial earthquake.

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