The Eise Eisinga Planetarium in Friesland has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Eise Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker, Friesland, has been declared a World Heritage Site. The United Nations’ UNESCO included the solar system model on its prestigious list on Tuesday.

Is Eisinga (1744-1828) was a businessman who worked in astronomy in his spare time. Between 1774 and 1781, he recreated the solar system on the ceiling of his living room. He did this to prove that the doomsday scenarios were wrong. Eisinga made the six planets then known—Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn—the Moon orbiting the Sun. The pendulum clock powers the system. The Eise Eisinga Royal Planetarium is the oldest operating planetarium in the world.

Outgoing State Minister Gunay Oslu, in charge of heritage policy, said the planetarium is “heritage at its best.” “Unique, irreplaceable, and tells a special story that is also important beyond the Netherlands.” She added that Isinga built the planetarium “to refute terrifying rumors with scientific evidence.” That makes it still relevant.”

The World Heritage List contains approximately 1,200 places around the world. The planetarium ranks 13th in the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the list. Other sites include the Wadden Sea, Waterline, the Van Nel factory in Rotterdam, the Amsterdam canal belt, the windmills at Kinderdijk, and the Willemstad Center in Curacao.