Franeker - Planetarium

Opposite the Town Hall, at Eise Eisingstraat 3, is an unpretentious house containing a feature which in its day was famed far beyond the bounds of Friesland. This was a planetarium constructed in 1774-81 by Eise Eisinga, a wool comber and amateur astronomer, on his living room ceiling. Some of his fellow citizens had been led by a local newspaper to believe that, as a result of the unusual position of certain planets, the end of the world was near. To dispel their superstitious fears he devised this planetarium showing the movements of the planets. His ingenious system of gears, which also shows the date and time of day, is still in perfect working order.