It has operated telescopes at Bergedorf, at two previous locations in Hamburg, at other observatories around the world, and it has also supported space missions.

[4][5] The Observatory also has an old style Great Refractor (a Großen Refraktor), a long telescope with a lens (60 cm/~23.6 in aperture) with a tube focal length of 9 meters (~10 yards), and there is also a smaller one from the 19th century that has survived.

[4] Another historical item of significance is the first and original Schmidt telescope, a type noted for its wide-field views.

[4] Among its achievements, the director of the Observatory won the 1854 Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society for an 1852 star catalog.

Repsold, Reinke, and J.C. von Hess submitted a proposal to Hamburg for city observatory that same year, to rebuild.

[9] First director became Charles Rümker who had accompanied Thomas Brisbane to build the first Australian observatory at Parramatta.

[11] Two new instruments for the Bergedorf location were the 60 cm (~23.6 inch) aperture Great Refractor by Reposold, and Meridian Circle.

That organization put a lot telescopes in the southern hemisphere, which is not as viewable from northern part of Earth.

Walter Baade successfully petitioned the Hamburg senate to have Schmidt camera installed in 1937, and it was completed in 1954 after work restarted on in 1951 after being interrupted by WWII.

In 2009, South African pop star, singer and composer Ike Moriz filmed a music video called 'Starry Night'[33] both inside and outside the observatory buildings.