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HEVELIUS
When talking about Gdansk’s most famous resident, you
not only have to decide which name to use - - Johannes
Hevelius if you’re German or Jan Heweliusz in Polish - but
how exactly to credit him first. As a popular brewer? A successful
astronomer? A prolific inventor? The onetime mayor
of Gdansk? The Da Vinci of Poland?
With a resume like that it makes sense that Gdansk devoted
2011 - the 400th anniversary of Hevelius’s birth - to honouring
what one local publication called “The man of the millennium.”
Normally recognised with a week each year, Hevelius
was upgraded to a full year’s worth of activities, events and
celebrations to honour all his achievements.
A life in Gdansk
Born in Gdansk in 1611 into a wealthy German-speaking
family, Hevelius was one of three brothers and six sisters
and the only male child to make it to adulthood. The German-
Czech children of Abraham Howelcke and Kordula
Hecker had a privileged upbringing, and Hevelius was sent to
Gymnasium at the age of seven. There Hevelius was taught
by Peter Cruger, who encouraged the boy’s early fascination
with mathematics and astronomy.
Though Hevelius chose to pursue law at Leiden University in
Holland, his interest in astronomy was always at the forefront
of his mind. After leaving school Hevelius travelled around
Europe seeking out leading astronomers like Pierre Gassendi
and Ismael Boulliau before his parents called him home - just
short of his final destination, Galileo in Italy.
The summons to Gdansk meant Abraham and Kordula were
ready for Hevelius to stop chasing astronomers and instead
take over the family brewery. Hevelius did just that, marrying
neighbour Katherine Rebeschke in 1635 and embracing the
family tradition of brewing beer. Yet despite his devotion to
beer (Hevelius helmed the local brewing guild), the pull of
astronomy was one he could not ignore.
Astronomical achievements
The combination of an eclipse of the sun in 1639 and the
pleas of his former teacher, Peter Cruger, to resume his interest
in the stars inspired Hevelius to take up his former hobby
once again. In 1641 he constructed an observatory on the
roof of his home where he worked on creating instruments
for the study of astronomy that quickly outpaced anything
seen in Europe - including a 150-foot telescope built on the
shore of the Baltic Sea. Hand-grinding his own lenses and
creating his own sextants was part of the everyday task of
stargazing at the Hevelius home.
With these homemade tools Hevelius quickly became a
master of his science, discovering numerous constellations
and comets, extensively documenting the topography of the
moon, and observing the phases of mercury and spots on
the sun. These discoveries and observations led Hevelius to
publish 20 works in Latin detailing his findings, many using
his own well-crafted illustrations.
Unsurprisingly, Hevelius’s work and stunning observatory
caught the attention of his peers, and he was elected to
the Royal Society of London in 1664 (the first Pole in the
Society’s history). He also received a visit from Edmund
Halley, discoverer of Halley’s Comet, who sought to compare
Hevelius’s use of a sextant with open sights to the use of a
sextant with telescopic sights. The winner? Hevelius proved
he could assess star positions without a telescope as easily
(and accurately) as Halley could with.
Throughout his work in astronomy Hevelius was also heavily
involved in municipal matters in Gdansk. In 1640 he became
the church administrator at St.Catherine’s Church, and
served for a decade as a court juror. And from 1651 until
his death, Hevelius was a councillor for the city of Gdansk.
Despite his many roles in the town and running a successful
brewery, paying for his research required Hevelius to seek
the patronage of Polish kings and queens in order to gain
financial support. King Jan Kazimierz and Queen Maria
Ludwika were the first royalty to visit the observatory, and
King Jan III Sobieski the first to give Hevelius a permanent
annual salary for his work - - which might explain why Hevelius
named a constellation “Scutum Sobiescianum” (Sobieski’s
shield). Hevelius also drew an annual salary from the French
King Louis XIV.
Money wasn’t the only hurdle for Hevelius. In 1662 he lost
his longtime wife Katherine, who for many years had run
the family brewing business so her husband could focus on
astronomy. A year later the 52-year-old Hevelius married
16-year-old Elizabeth Koopman, who quickly became a
partner and ally in Hevelius’ work (many consider Koopman
to be the first female astronomer and “the mother of moon
charts”). In between giving birth to four children she managed
the observatory and, following his death, completed their
jointly created catalogue of 1,564 stars called Prodromus
astronomiae. She is memorialised in astronomy by lending
her name to a minor planet and, excitingly, a crater on Venus.
Tragedy struck the family again when a fire ravaged the
observatory in 1679; all of Hevelius’s instruments and tools
were destroyed in the blaze. Though he quickly repaired
the space in time to observe the great comet of 1680 (and
named the constellation Sextans in honour of his destroyed
instruments) his health was permanently damaged by the
shock of the disaster and Hevelius died on his 76th birthday
in 1687.
Today Hevelius’s legacy can be seen throughout Poland and
the world. Fellow astronomers have named a moon crater
and an asteroid after the scientist, and his designation of
IH Cassiopeiae is still in frequent use today. Both the Polish
Navy and Polish Oceanliners have named ships in his honour
Gdańsk In Your Pocket gdansk.inyourpocket.com
What to see
Despite the passing of over 300 years since his death and
the destruction of WWII, it is still possible to find traces of
Hevelius in the city, whether they be places where he lived,
worked and now rests or monuments to the man.
For more information on events related to the Hevelius 2011
celebration, visit www.janheweliusz.pl (though so far the site
is only in Polish).
ul. Piwna (Piwna street) B/C-4. You can also wander
along streets that were important in the life of Hevelius.
Beers fans will enjoy a walk down Gdansk’s ulica Piwna, which
was once named Jopengasse after the popular Heveliusmade
Jopenbier brand. For many years it was possible to
buy Heweliusz beer as well (one of In Your Pocket’s favourite
Polish beers) which was brewed locally, but that unfortunately
fell victim to the streamlining of the Polish brewing industry by
the big multi-nationals a few years back. Instead keep an eye
out for the Johannes brew which has been specially created
by the local Amber Brewery to commemorate Hevelius Year.
Hevelius’s Home & Brewery (Kamienice Heweliusza)
B-2, ul. Korzenna 2/4/6 (corner of ul. Heweliusza).
Following Hevelius’s marriage in 1635 to his neighbour
Katherine Rebeschke, he took over a pair of tenement
houses and a brewery which came to him as part of his newwife’s
dowry. This property expanded in 1649 when Hevelius
inherited his family’s adjacent house and brewery following
his father’s death, the new property covering an area which
filled most of the space between (B-2/3) Korzenna, Bednarska
and Zawrotna. The property would have consisted of the
living quarters at the front, brewery to the rear and ultimately
Hevelius’ observatory on the roof. The Hevelius family was
to live and work here for many decades and the property is
thought to have remained in the family until the start of the
19th century. Photographs taken over a hundred years later
suggest parts of the structure from Hevelius’ time still existed
but these, like much of the surrounding city were destroyed in
the fall of Danzig in 1945. Despite attempts to re-create the
tenements in the 1950s, the ruins were finally pulled down
and a new residential block built on the site, a building which
today awaits renovation. While many sources quote the address
of the Hevelius home and brewery as 53-55 Korzenna
today you will find them allocated different numbers on the
same street. A unkempt plaque denotes the spot where the
great man once worked and lived.
gdansk.inyourpocket.com
HEVELIUS
Johannes Hevelius
Monument (Pomnik
Jana Heweliusza) B-3,
ul. Korzenna. This statue
was designed by Jan Szczypka
and unveiled on January 28th
2006, the 395th anniversary
of his birth in the gardens dedicated
to him opposite the Old
Town Hall. Hevelius is widely
regarded as the last great
astronomer to work without
lenses and instead made
many of his discoveries using
a quadrant and alidade, tools he is depicted with here as he
stares up at a wonderful recreation of his work on an adjacent
surviving pre-war building.
Old Town Hall (Ratusz Starego Miasta) B-3,
ul. Korzenna 33/35, tel. (+48) 58 301 10 51, www.
nck.org.pl. This marvellous 16th-century Renaissance
building was once home to the office of Hevelius in his role
as an Old Town Council Lord. The former headquarters of
the Council of Gdansk, the Old Town Hall served as the
headquarters of the Soviet Army during the dying days of
WWII, probably because it was practically the only building
left standing in the city at the time. Today the building
is open to the public and has become the focus of much
creativity. Concerts are held upstairs, and the superb
Baltic Sea Cultural Centre (see Culture & Events) now
have their offices there. There’s also a cellar restaurant,
and a good bookshop on the ground floor. QOpen 10:00
- 18:00. Admission free.
St. Catherine’s Church (Kościół Św. Katarzyny)
C-3, ul. Profesorska 3, tel. (+48) 58 301 15 95. This
14th century brick church, the former parish church of the Old
Town and where Hevelius was once church administrator, is
also his final resting place. You will find his tomb at the rear
behind the altar along with an epitaph funded by his grandson
nearly 100 years after the great man’s death. Following a
fire in 2006, which resulted in the ceiling collapsing, work to
restore the church took a number of years. A fairly spartan
scene, the highlight is a 76 metre baroque tower housing a
49-bell carillon, which has chimed on the hour - every hour -
since the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of WWII in 1939.
A display about the fire and the history of the church can be
found under the church tower. Q Open 10:00 - 15:00, Sun
08:00 - 13:00. No visiting during mass please.
St. John’s Church (Kościół św. Jana) D-3, ul.
Świętojańska 50, tel. (+48) 58 301 10 51, www.sw-jan.
vn.pl. Near the Motława River between ul. Świętojańska and
ul. Straganiarska you’ll find this huge brick vault dating from
the 1300s and the church in which Hevelius was christened
in 1611. Having had the misfortune to have been built on
swampland, what remains of the edifice is slowly sinking on
one side although work in recent years has tried to shore it
up. Though it was burnt and completely abandoned after
WWII, it’s now the subject of a huge refit that might well see
it return as one of the great landmarks of Gdańsk. While
many of the interior fittings have been moved to St. Mary’s
its famous 12 metre high renaissance altar remains. This
remarkable phantom of a church is now seeing its interior
being restored and work is planned to be completed by the
end of June 2012. Once fully re-open we look forward to
enjoying one of the most haunting venues in the city which
regularly plays hosts to exhibitions and some wonderful
concerts thanks to the building’s unique acoustics. Q Open
10:00-18:00. No visiting during mass please.
May - July 2012
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