An inscription (Lead God, the right teaching and justice into the heart of the crowned King Christian IV, 1642) adorns the outside of the observatory and is perhaps the most photographed and easily identifiable icon associated with the Round Tower.
The History
King Christian IV commissioned the Flemish-Danish designer Hans van Steenwinckel II to design the Rundetårn in the mid 1630s and the first stone was laid in 1637; it was completed in 1642 (1642 - the year Galileo Galilei died and one year before Sir Issac Newton was born). The observatory was used by the University of Copenhagen until 1861.
It is a common misconception among tourists to think that Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) used this observatory (they are both Danish after all). However Tycho died, in Prague, some forty years before the completion of this tower. Tycho did however travel to and attend the University of Copenhagen in 1559 to study "Rhetoric and Philosophy". However, two years later, in 1561, he switched his studies to astronomy; perhaps inspired by the eclipse of 1560. Tycho along with his student Johannes Kepler revolutionized the scientific world with their astronomical measurements and calculations - the most accurate of their time.
The Engineering
The viewing platform atop the Round Tower is ~35 meters above street level and is accessible via a ~200 meter long helical ramp that winds clockwise seven and half complete revolutions to reach the observatory. The ramp was constructed to facilitate moving books into the attached Trinity church library and provide a mechanism for moving astronomical equipment to the rooftop observatory.
On the rooftop a wrought-iron lattice handrail, made in 1643 by Kaspar Fincke, runs the complete circumference. The careful observer will notice Christian IV's monogram and the letters RFP in the lattice; RFP (Regna Firmat Pietas) - "Piety strengthens the Realms" - is the King's motto.
The Location
Located in the heart of the city, just a few meters north of the famous Strøget at Købmagergade 52A -- Google map coordinates (55°40'52.97"N, 12°34'32.71"E).
Did you know?
The ramp was ascended in 1716 by Czar Peter The Great who rode his horse to the top; later Czarina Catherine rode a carriage to the top. In 1902 a German built Beaufort was the first motorized vehicle to drive up the ramp.
- The Spiral Ramp
- 7 1/2 turns
- 33% inner rise (10% outer rise)
- 3.74 meters rise per turn
- Observatory
- 34.8 meters from the street to the observation platform
- 7 meters high
- 6 meter diameter
- Stairs (up to observatory)
- 28 wooden and 31 stone steps (atop the spiral ramp)
- Tower has a 7.68 meter radius
More?
Visit the Round Tower website for much more information.
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