The Round Tower

By Joyce Ira

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The Round Tower

The Round Tower or better known as Rundetaarn, is the oldest functioning observatory in Europe where stars have been watched here since 1642. At the time when Christian the IV built the towe, Denmark was quite famous for its astronomical achievements thanks to the astronomer Tycho Brahe. When he died in 1601 the King wished to continue the research of Brahe and thus the round tower came into being. Today it has been awhile since the scientists left the telescope, but the observatory is still frequently used by amateur astronomers and the many visitors of the tower.

Wall to Wall

The observatory is encircled by an outdoor platform from which you have a magnificent view of the old part of Copenhagen. To get there you need to walk up the spiral walk, which is 268,5 meters long at the outer wall and only 85,5, meters long close to the core of the building. This means that you usually walk around 209 meters to get to top although the tower is only 36 meters tall. This wily walk also leads to the library hall, which once housed the entire book collection of the university. Today the hall serves as the framework for changing exhibitions of art, culture, history and science. The entry way of the tower is flanked by ornamental writing in Latin and the entire entrance area is actually a little bit crooked as it was originally built into the church wall, which was in line with the street. On the top platform several different buildings have been raised through times gone by. The current public observatory was built in 1929. Here everyone can look at the movements of the heavenly bodies through the big telescope. During winter the observatory is open Tuesday and Wednesday evening and during summer it is open Sunday afternoon. The platform is open every day all year round.

The tower is open from 10am-5pm every Monday-Friday and from 12nn-8pm every Saturday. Closed on Sundays.


Take a bus, Metro or train to Norreport Station. From there you need to walk for five minutes going to the tower.




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