History of the Utrecht Planet Trail

1994

In 1994 the Planetenpad was conceived on the initiative of Rob Rutten, Institute of Astronomy of Utrecht University. Theo van de Hoeven and Inez de Heer Kloots developed the idea further and shaped the sun. The technical implementation of the sun was done by Bronsgieterij vd Klei en Haitsema and stonemasonry J. van Straten. The unveiling of the sun on Domplein was done by Princess Margriet. It is unclear whether the planets were placed further in Utrecht at the time. Nothing can now be found at the proposed locations. (see: a video on Youtube). For more details on the history please visit the website of Rob Rutten via de link below (Dutch)

2018

In 2018, the Planetenpad idea was picked up again by Louk Röell. Louk has been appointed Utrecht All Star in the context of Awesome Utrecht. The production of the Planetenpad was financially made possible by Awesome Utrecht, the entrepreneurial fund, the Sonnenborgh observatory and the municipality of Utrecht. A film and more information can be found on DIUC. An overview map of the Planet Trail can be found here.

2020

This website and a description of the Planetenpad was created in June 2020 as part of the Corona Creativity by Rob Bronckers, retired physicist and astronomer, volunteer at the Dutch Space Agency, the National Space Museum and the Sonnenborgh.