The Nikolaev Astronomical Observatory, one of the oldest observatories in Eastern Europe, was founded in 1821 as a naval one to train navigators of the Black Sea Fleet. From 1912 to 1991 the observatory functioned as the southern branch of the Pulkovo observatory. The building of the observatory was built in 1829 on the highest place in the city - Spassky Hill. The main entrance is designed as a six-column portico with steps leading to the main auditorium, above which rises a rotunda with a flat roof, with a hole for observing the sky that closes with a complex mechanism.
In April 2007, the observatory was included in the provisional UNESCO World Heritage List. The complex with an area of ​​7.1 hectares includes the main building of the observatory, pavilions and buildings for scientific and economic purposes, a park and a cast-iron fence. There is a museum, the exposition of which presents a collection of astronomical clocks of the 18th-20th centuries, a collection of astronomical and navigational instruments, a sundial, a marine compass, a portrait gallery of prominent personalities and directors of the observatory.