Astronomical Observatory of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Piwnice near Toruń, educating students of the Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Applied Informatics, as well as for space observation, scientific research and popularization of knowledge about the universe. The Observatory was established thanks to the efforts of Prof. Władysław Dziewulski and Prof. Wilhelmina Iwanowska, researchers at the University of Toruń, and previously at the Stefan Batory University in Vilnius. They appealed for help in equipping the institution. In 1947 they received from Harvard College Observatory an astrograph by Drapera from 1891. It was decided to locate an astronomical observatory in Piwnice, about 13 km north of Toruń. Between Piwnice and Toruń there is a belt of forests, including the nature reserve Piwnicki Forest with an area of over 37 ha, limiting the city's influence on the observations.