Danish astronomer, astrologer and alchemist who helped transform Prague into one of the world’s leading centres of science. His precise observations of celestial bodies formed the basis for Kepler’s discoveries, which launched a revolution in the understanding of the universe, leading all the way to space flight. A descendant of an ancient Danish noble family, Tyge Ottesen Brahe, known as Tycho, was passionate about astronomy from a young age. He studied at a number of European universities, and argued with his colleague Manderup Parsberg about who was the greater mathematician at the one in Rostock. A fencing duel ensued, in which Parsberg cut off most of Brahe’s nose. The two duellists became lifelong friends, and Brahe wore a prosthetic nose made of gold and silver alloy until his death. With the generous support of the Danish King Frederick II, he built the most advance European scientific centre of its time on the island of Hven in the Baltic Sea. Called Uranienborg, it combined an astronomical observatory and meteorological station with an alchemical laboratory. He also proposed a model of the universe as a compromise between the geocentric and heliocentric systems, where the Sun, Moon and the sphere of stars orbit the Earth, while the five planets known at the time (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) orbit the Sun. After Frederick’s death, however, Tycho found himself in dispute with the new King Christian IV, and finally accepted the offer of the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, Rudolf II, to become his court astronomer. Tycho Brahe arrived in Prague in 1600 and stayed at the inn At the Golden Griffin (U Zlatého gryfa) in one of the most beautiful corners of old Prague, which has long been called Nový Svět. In the same year, the famous German mathematician, astrologer and astronomer Johannes Kepler came to Prague at Brahe’s invitation to become his assistant. While Brahe observed celestial bodies, Kepler made calculations based on the results of his observations, later using them not only to derive his famous laws of planetary motion around the Sun, but also to compile a famous star catalogue entitled the Rudolfinian Tables in honour of his patron, Emperor Rudolf II. Brahe still observed the sky with his naked eye, only with the help of giant quadrants and sextants, the largest of which measured almost two metres in length. A telescope made of glass lenses was first used in astronomy by Galileo Galilei only seven years after Brahe’s death. New World | Photo: Prague City Tourism Emperor Rudolf had an astronomical observatory built for Tycho Brahe and Johann Kepler in the villa built for him at Pohořelec by the vice-chancellor of the empire, Jakub Kurz of Senftenava. Today, a grammar school stands on its site, with bronze statues of the two astronomers in front of it. Brahe set up another thoroughly equipped observatory not far from here, in the charming Renaissance Summer Palace of Queen Anne in the Royal Garden near Prague Castle. While residing in Prague, Brahe also became friends with the famous Jewish rabbi Yehuda Liva ben Bezalel, also known as MaHaRaL or Rabbi Löw, who, according to legend, created the artificial being Golem. The two scholars were mainly connected by their love of alchemy and astrology. Brahe met his fate after a feast at the home of the Czech nobleman Petr Vok of Rožmberk at his Hradčany residence, today called the Schwarzenberg Palace. Tycho feasted and drank more wine than was healthy, for according to the Rožmberk lords, anyone who failed to finish their chalice had to drink an extra glass as punishment and redeem themselves by making a funny entry in a special penalty register. As soon as the guilty astronomer returned home, he began to suffer from severe pain due to kidney failure. He died in agony less than later on 24 October 1601. Tycho Brahe was laid to rest in the Church of Our Lady before Týn in Prague’s Old Town, under a tombstone carved from the famous brown-red Sliven marble. He is shown dressed in knightly armour, but with a lace circlet around his neck. His right hand rests on a celestial sphere, his left on the hilt of a sword. According to an old Prague legend, Brahe’s tombstone is endowed with magical powers: anyone who caresses the astronomer’s stone face will allegedly be relieved of their toothache. Inspirational Prague turned out not only to be Tycho Brahe’s last home – it also transformed him from a great observer into a historical legend. Brahe’s own theory of the universe disappeared over time, but thanks to his observations, people can fly into space today. But one mystery remains unsolved to this day: Where did Brahe’s artificial nose made of gold and silver disappear to?