Observatory Courtyard

This is the oldest courtyard of the university architectural complex - the walls of its lower levels go back to the 15th century. The actual courtyard was formed at the time of the construction, in the 16th century, of premises for the College; in the time of the Academy, it was called the College Courtyard. It acquired its present structure at the beginning of the 17th century. The east and west wings had glassed-in vaulted galleries on all three levels, but these were bricked up in the second half of the 19th century.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, medicinal herbs grew in the courtyard; its south wing held a pharmacy, and at the end of the 18th century - offices and archives of the Lithuanian Education Commission. The principal building in the courtyard is the old astronomy observatory with its classical annex. The classical edifice has two slender small towers designed for astronomical observations, and a strong sandstone wall for securing a meridian quadrant. At the top of the wall, under a frieze, appear the Roman poet Virgil's reflections on astronomy: "Addidit antiquo virtus nova lumina coelo" ("Courage is given the ancient Universe by new light"). Beneath that: "Haec domus Uraniae est: Curae procul este profanae: Temnitur hic humilis tellus: Hinc itur ad astra" ("This house is that of Urania: be gone profane worries! Here the humble Earth is scorned: from here one rises to the stars"). Lower still is an inscription marking the 150th anniversary of the Education Commission, and of the education reforms of 1773. On the third level, the building is embellished with a Doric frieze bearing the signs of the zodiac on the metopes. Embedded in the wall of the west building is a memorial plaque to M.Poczobutt.