[1] Initially the observatory was dedicated to astrometry, geodetic and meteorological observation and tracking the time.

[2] Planning for the observatory began in 1787 by the court astronomer Baron Franz Xaver von Zach, with the financing of Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

[3] During Peter Andreas Hansen's term, the observatory was dismantled and moved to a less exposed location in Gotha.

[4] Around 1800, the observatory became an international center for astronomy, being the most modern astronomical institute primarily for its instruments.

[5] By the start of the nineteenth century improved instrumentation was acquired from Munich, the standard place to acquire them in the 19th century:[4] consisting of a theodolite (Reichenbach, Utzschneider & Liebherr), a different heliometer (Fraunhofer), new mounting, and three-foot meridian circle (Ertel, Utzschneider & Fraunhofer).