Neuchâtel Observatory

The Neuchâtel Observatory is an astronomical observatory funded by the Public Economy Department of the canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. It is located in the city of Neuchâtel and was founded in 1858. The first director was the 71 year old German astronomer Adolphe Hirsche.
Besides astronomical observations, the Neuchâtel observatory also works with atomic clocks. Before 1967, one second was defined by the rotation of the earth, and thus Neuchâtel observatory calibrated clocks via observations. Now its telescope is used in a historical fashion by local amateur astronomers, while the calibration is done via atomic clocks.