Semyonovsky Meteorological Observatory

Take a walk towards the middle of the whole Lenina street, to be more specific, in the vicinity of Sadovaya square and the stadium. If you live in Kursk, at least once in your life you would have passed by Lenina street, building 55. It is rather a unique building, but often blind to us. Just opposite the Sadovaya bus stop you will notice it. A 2 storey building, in light blue and white. It was a seminary where young boys who soon to be priests will be studying there, but back in 1896, it had a completely different look. Oh yes, an observatory!

At the initiative of the teacher of the seminary, P. Popov, who spoke at a meeting with the city’s administration. He bravely suggested the construction of the observatory and also to be named after the Kursk astronomer F.A. Semyonov, and with the consent of the family, they could put the surviving instruments of the astronomer in the observatory as a memoir.

This decision marked the beginning of regular and continuous observations of the weather in Kursk, Popov was entrusted to teach meteorology. At the request of P.G. Popov, the Main Observatory of Russia and the Russian Imperial Geographical Society agreed to honor the memory of their late member F.A. Semyonov by sending a set of meteorological instruments worth 400 rubles as a gift to the Semyonovsky Observatory.

A wooden tower is being built on the Seminary building for wind observations, a meteorological office equipped in the Seminary garden, buildings are being constructed and the necessary instruments are being installed. On January 1, 1896, the first entries about the weather in the observation log was made. It was decided that the observer will be a pupil of the 3rd (final) class of the Seminary, and his assistant — the best pupil of the 2nd class, who will become an observer next year.

In the first year of operation, the Observatory was visited and inspected by the Chairman of the meteorological Commission of the Imperial Russian geographical society, A.I. Voeykov, a well-known climatologist, Professor E.E. Leist, and Professor of Physics at the Odessa University, N.D. Pilchikov. The Semyonovsky Observatory quickly gained a flattering reputation among scientists, and became a center for geographical research of the local region.

In 1896, the French magnetologist, Muro came to Kursk from Paris to study a magnetic anomaly in the province. The following year, the geographical society sent Professor E.E. Leist to Kursk to continue Muro’s research. Popov also took an active part in these studies. Thanks to his perseverance, a network of meteorological stations was established in the Kursk province. In 1931, a permanent training course for weather observers for the weather station was organized here. In 5 years, 500 people graduated.

During the years of Nazi occupation, the meteorological network of the region was completely destroyed, the German occupation partially resumed the operation of the Kursk regional weather station, but these observations were incomplete. Due to a direct hit from an air bomb that smashed the weather tower on the roof of the building and damaged the weather platform. All that is left is such photographs for us to ponder upon.

REFERENCE
1. old.kurskcity.ru/pubs/article/427
2. kva.kursk.ru/encyclopedia/doc/GIDROMETEOSLUZhBA.php