Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Lille Observatory, designed by architects Marcel and Henri Boudin in 1932, is part of a policy of scientific development in the south of the city. He succeeds Hem's amateur observatory, founded in 1907 by Robert Jonckheere, a passionate astronomy industrialist. This first site, equipped with a 35 cm bezel, was dismantled after the First World War, its equipment being transferred to the University of Lille. The new observatory, marked by the influence of Robert Mallet-Stevens, symbolizes the alliance between the city and the university to promote research.

Robert Jonckhèere, central figure of this project, inaugurated in 1909 the Hem Observatory, dedicated to the study of double stars and meteorological surveys. During the First World War, he took refuge in England and collaborated with the Greenwich Royal Observatory. On his return, for lack of resources, he gave his instruments to the University of Lille, allowing the creation of the new observatory in the Lille-Moulins district, inaugurated in the 1930s.

The Lille Observatory, registered as a historical monument in 2001, now houses a museum presenting scientific instruments (anemometers, barometers, clocks) and continues research on comets and space debris. Its architecture, with an iconic dome and a stylized ship-shaped fireplace, reflects the aesthetic audacity of the 1930s. Directed by astronomers like Charles Gallissot or Alain Vienne, it remains a key place for the diffusion of science.

The building, owned by the commune, is characterized by an accessible roof terrace and a basting, evoking a naval metaphor. The historic 35 cm bezel, inherited from Hem's observatory, is still in service. The site, served by the metro station Porte de Douai, illustrates Lille's scientific and architectural heritage, between industrial heritage and academic innovation.

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