The Lyceum Library and Observatory, Eger

The Lyceum was built in the 1760s and 1770s by the bishop of Eger as a university that never received its charter, and the building is now a teacher-training college. Two things in it are open to visitors. The library on the first floor is a baroque hall lined with carved oak shelving under a ceiling fresco of the Council of Trent, holding tens of thousands of volumes including manuscripts and a letter said to be in Mozart's hand. Nine floors up, the observatory tower keeps its original eighteenth-century instruments, and above them a camera obscura throws a live moving image of the town onto a white table in a darkened room, worked by hand with a mirror and lens.

What you actually see

• The library hall - carved oak shelving beneath a fresco of the Council of Trent.
• The camera obscura - a live projected image of Eger's streets onto a white table.
• The observatory instruments - eighteenth-century telescopes and measuring devices in situ.
• The meridian line - the sunlight slot and floor line used for timekeeping in the tower.

When to go

April to October gives the brightest projection in the camera obscura, which needs a clear day to work properly; on a grey afternoon the image is faint and disappointing. Sessions run to a timetable, so check the times on arrival. Closed on Mondays out of season. Combine it with the castle and the baroque centre in one day.

Honest expectations

The tower is nine flights of stairs with no lift, and the camera obscura runs on a schedule, so you may climb and then wait. The projected image depends entirely on the weather. The library is viewed from a rope barrier at the door rather than walked through. The middle floors are filled with interactive science exhibits aimed at school groups and can be noisy.

Nearby

Eger's castle, basilica and the cellar valley outside town are all within walking distance or a short taxi ride.