The invention relates to a microscope comprising a microscope housing (18), an optics system (16) consisting of at least one lens system that contains at least one respective lens (48) and is positioned at one end of a passage (19) of the microscope housing (18), at least one observation device, in particular an ocular, located at the other end of the passage (19), an illumination device, whose light forms at least one illumination beam (44), originating from a plane of incidence (45) that vertically intersects the passage (19), said beam traversing the lens system and striking an object carrier (36) at a predetermined angle (). According to the invention, the illumination beam or beams (44) originating from the plane of incidence (45) is/are provided by an optical device, whose cross-section lying in the vicinity of the passage (19) is substantially smaller than the cross-section of said passage (19).