Rundetårn

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Rundetårn

Rundetårn seen from Købmagergade
Building
Architectural style	Dutch Baroque
Town	Copenhagen
Country	Denmark
Client	Christian IV
Construction
Started	1637
Completed	1642
Design team
Architect	Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger

The Rundetårn (English: Round Tower) is a 17th-century tower located in central Copenhagen, Denmark. One of the many architectural projects of Christian IV, it was built as an astronomical observatory. It is most noted for its 7.5-turn helical corridor leading to the top, and for the expansive views it affords over Copenhagen.

The tower is part of the Trinitatis Complex, which also provided the scholars of the time with a student church and a university library.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Background 1.2 Planning and preparations 1.3 Construction phase 1.4 Time as an observatory 1.5 Denise and later years 1.6 Notable ascents 2 Architecture 2.1 Spiral ramp 2.2 Observation deck 2.3 Observatory 2.4 Rebus inscription 3 Rundetårn today 3.1 Public observatory 3.2 Exhibitions & concerts 3.3 Views 3.4 Rundetårn Unicycle Race 4 Cultural references 5 See also 6 External links 7 References

[edit] History

[edit] Background

Astronomy had grown in importance in 17th-century Europe. Countries had begun competing with each other in establishing colonies, creating a need for accurate navigation across the oceans. Many national observatories were therefore established, the first in 1632 at Leiden in the Dutch Republic. Only five years later the Rundetårn Observatory, first referred to as STELLÆBURGI REGII HAUNIENSIS, would follow.^[1]

[edit] Planning and preparations

After the break with Tycho Brahe, Christian Longomontanus had become the Christian IV's new astronomer and the first professor of astronomy at the University of Copenhagen. In 1625 he suggested the king should build an astronomical tower to replace Brahe's Stjerneborg

Longomontanus' initial proposal was to build the new observatory on the top of the hill known as Valby Bakke. But since there were also plans to build a new students' church and a library for the university, the idea of merging the three buildings into one grand complex began to emerge.^[2]

Already in 1622 Christian IV had bought the land where it was ultimately decided to build the Trinitatis Complex. His original plans for the site are not known but as it was conviently located next to the Regensen dormatories and the university, it was chosen for his new prestigious project.

Although there is no clear proof, it is generally accepted that Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger was charged with the commission even if he did not live to see the tower completed.

From 24 November 1636, stones were brougt to the site for the foundation, first from the city's ramparts and later from the area around Roskilde. Bricks were ordered from the Netherlands since local manufacturers could not meet the high standards required. In February 1637, a contract was signed with a Henrik van Dingklage from Emden for the supply of bricks for the construction. The first three ship loads were to be delivered in May, the next three loads the following month and the remainder on demand.

The Trinitatis Complex was to be built in a crowded neighbourhood of narrow streets and alleyways. The area first had to be cleared. On 18 April 1637, 200 men, soldiers and personnel from Holmen began to demolish the half-timbered houses occupying the site.^[3]

[edit] Construction phase

The foundation stone was laid on 7 July 1637. When Hans van Steenwinckel died on 6 August 1639, Leonhard Blasius was brought to Denmark from the Netherlands as new Royal Building Master. Unlike his predecessor, he would become a mere transitional figure in Danish architecture, dying four years later without leaving any notable buildings of his own design. On several occasions construction work came to a standstill due to shortage of funds. Churches in Denmark and Norway were therefore ordered to contribute a share of their earnings during the construction years.^[2] In 1642, the tower was finally completed, though the church was completed only in 1657 and the library in 1657.

[edit] Time as an observatory

Christian Longomontanus became the first director of the observatory. In the Great Fire of 1728 the Trinitatis Complex was severely damaged but was rebuilt.

[edit] Denise and later years

During the early 19th century, the Rundetårn became outdated as an astronomical observatory with instruments growing still bigger while the tower could not be expanded. At the same time, light pollution from the surrounding city and vibrations caused by the ever increasing traffic in the streets below had made the observations inaccurate.^[4] The University therefore built Østervold Observatory on the old bastioned fortifications of the city, which had become outdated and were being abandoned. It was inaugurated in 1861 to the design of Christian Frederik Hansen.

[edit] Notable ascents

• In 1726, The Czar Peter the Great ascended the corridor on horseback while visiting Copenhagen.
• In 1902, a Beaufort car was the first motorised vehicle to ascend this tower.
• A medal in the Rundetårn's collection of medals seems to indicate that the first bicycle race held in the Rundetårn took place as early as 1888, possibly in connection with The Nordic exhibition of Industry, Agriculture, and Art.
• In 1811, the newspaper Socialdemokraten arranged a bicycle race down the Rundetårn.
• In 1971, Ole Ritter won a bicycle race against Leif Mortensen up the Rundetårn in a time of 55.3 seconds.
• In 1993, Henrik Djernis won a bicycle race against Jens Veggerby in a time of 50.05 seconds.
• In 1989, Thomas Olsen went up and down the Rundetårn on a unicycle in 1 minute and 48.7 seconds, which is a world record.^[5]

[edit] Architecture

The Rundetårn is a cylindrical tower built in masonry of alternating yellow and red bricks. The bricks used were manufactured in the Netherlands and of a hard-burned, slender type, known as muffer or mopper.^[3] On the rear side, it is attached to the Trinitatis Church, but has never served as a church tower.

It may seem surprising that Steenwinckel, whose name is otherwise synonymous with Dutch Renaissance in Denmark, is the architect of the Trinitatis Complex. Unlike his other buildings with their lavish opnamentations and extravagant spires, it is built to a focused design showing restraint. Hans van Steenwinckel must have been up on the situation in Holland, cogniziant that the style which he had once learned from Hendrick de Keyser had been altogether abandoned.^[3]

The architects now setting the agenda in the Netherlands, masters such as Jacob van Kampen (Amsterdam City Hall), Pieter Post (Mauritshuis in the Hague) and Philip Vingboons, now favoured a style characterized by sobriety and restraint. It is now known as Dutch Baroque or sometimes Ditch Classicism. Its proponents often relied on the great theoretical works such as those of Palladio of Vignola. Steenwinckel may have paid a visit to his native Netherlands prior to his change in style but it will have been too early for him to have seen any of the period's buildings realized.^[3]

[edit] Spiral ramp

Instead of stairs, a 7.5-turn spiral ramp forms the only connection between the individual components of the building complex. It turns 7.5 times around the hollow masonry core of the tower before reaching the observation deck and observatory at the top, on the way also affording access to the Library Hall as well as the Bell-Ringer's Loft. This design was chosen to allow a horse and carriage to reach the library, moving books in and out of the library as well as transporting heavy and sensitive instruments to the observatory.

The winding corridor has a length of 210 m, climbing 3.74 m per turn. Along the outer wall the corridor has a length of 257.5 m and a grade of 10%, while along the wall of the inner core the corridor is only 85.5 m long but has a grade of 33%.^[6]

[edit] Observation deck

The observation deck is located 34.8 m above street level. Along the edge of the platform runs a wrought-iron lattice made in 1643 by Kaspar Fincke, Court Artist in metalwork. In the latticework, Christian IV's monogram and the letters RFP are seen, the letters representing the King's motto: Regna Firmat Pietas - Piety strengthens the Realms.

[edit] Observatory

The observatory is a small domed building, built on the roof of the tower. Built in 1929, the current observatory is 7 m high and has a diameter of 6 m. Access is by a narrow winding stone staircase from the observation deck.

[edit] Rebus inscription

On the upper part of the façade of the tower, there is a gilded rebus inscription. Christian IV's draft of it, written with his own hand, is kept at the Danish National Archives. It includes the four Hebrew consonants of the Tetragrammaton. The rebus can be interpreted in the following way: Lead God, the right teaching and justice into the heart of the crowned King Christian IV, 1642.^[7]

[edit] Rundetårn today

Today the Rundetårn serves as an observation tower, a public astronomical observatory, an exhibition and concert venue and a historical monument.

[edit] Public observatory

In 1860 the University of Copenhagen decomissoned the Round Tower as a university observatory but in 1928 it was reconstructed as an observatory with access for amateur astronomers and the general public. It is open from mid-October to mid-March.

[edit] Exhibitions & concerts

Since 1987, the Library Hall has served as an exhibition venue, featuring various exhibitions of art, culture, history and science. At the same time, it is used as a concert venue, every year hosting around a hundred concerts.^[7]

[edit] Views

The observation deck affords extensive views over the rooftops of the old part of Copenhagen. On clear days, both the Øresund Bridge and Sweden can be seen in the distance.

[edit] Rundetårn Unicycle Race

Every year in spring, a unicycle race is held. The contestants have to go up and down the Rundetårn. The world record, set in 1988, is 1 minute and 48.7 seconds.^[5]

[edit] Cultural references

• In Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Tinder Box, the largest of the three dogs is said to have eyes as large as the Round Tower at Copenhagen.
• In another Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The Elder-Tree Mother, an old married couple remembers how they sued to go "up the Round Tower, and looked down on Copenhagen, and far, far away over the water; then we went to Friedericksberg, where the King and the Queen were sailing about in their splendid barges!".^[8]

• The asteroid 5505 Rundetårn commemorates the tower.
• In Denmark, heights of buildings are often compared to the height of the Rundetårn.
• A phrase in Danish is "Which is highest, the Rundetårn or a crash of thunder?" (loud and high are the same word in Danish). It is often used in a discussion when the opponent tries to compare incomparable quantities - see also Apples and oranges.

[edit] See also

• Østervold Observatory

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rundetårn

• Official website
• Rundetårn concert calendar
• Rundetårn exhibition calendar
• Rundetaarn in the Structurae database

[edit] References

Coordinates: 55°40′53″N 12°34′33″E / 55.68139°N 12.57583°E / 55.68139; 12.57583