Category of Astronomical Heritage: tangible immovable
Rundetårn, Copenhagen, Denmark
Format: IAU - Outstanding Astronomical Heritage
Description
Geographical position
Rundetårn (Round Tower), , Købmagergade 52A (Pedestrian street), 1150 Copenhagen, Denmark
Location
Lat. 55° 40′ 52.86″ N, long. 12° 34′ 33.0204″ E, elevation 16m above mean sea level.
IAU observatory code
---
Description of (scientific/cultural/natural) heritage
Fig. 1. Rundetårn (Round Tower), Copenhagen (Wikipedia)
The new observatory, the ten-storey round tower (Rundetårn), part of the Trinitatis church, was built in 1637/42 by the architect Hans Steenwinkel the Younger (1587--1639). The Rebus on the south facade refers to the patron King Christian IV. (1577--1648), King of Denmark and Norway of 1588 to 1648.
Fig. 2. 209-m-Spiral Ramp ("Donkey Stairway") in Rundetårn, Copenhagen (Wikipedia, Mariano ZF Barcelona)
The 209-m-Spiral Ramp ("Donkey Stairway", Eselstreppe, equestrian staircase) is unique in European architecture.
The building (Stellaburgis Hafniens) was used for scientific purposes by the University of Copenhagen until 1861, as an astronomical observatory, as a student church and as a university library (founded in 1482). The platform in 35-m height offers excellent observation conditions. In the Great Fire of 1728 the Trinitatis Complex was severely damaged but was rebuilt. The Round Tower is the oldest observatory in Europe, still in operation, as a Public Observatory.
History
Fig. 3. Rundetårn, Copenhagen, Rebus "1642" (Wikipedia, Christian Bickel)
The first director
Christian Sørensen Severin, called Longomontanus (1562--1647) began in 1589 as an assistant to Tycho Brahe in Uraniborg, studied from 1597 to 1602 in Breslau (Wrocław), Danzig (Gdańsk), Königsberg (Kaliningrad) and Rostock, and in 1605 was appointed as a first professor at the University of Copenhagen. His work Astronomia Danica (Amsterdam 1622) was dedicated to Christian IV.
He proposed to replace Tycho’s lost observatories Uraniborg and Stjerneborg, Island Hven, Denmark (today Ven, Sweden), which were destroyed in 1601.
In 1929 the platform on the tower was replaced by a dome.
State of preservation
The buiding is still in good condition.
Comparison with related/similar sites
Fig. 3. Rundetårn, Copenhagen (1642), (Doppelmayr, Johann Gabriel: Atlas Coelestis in quo Mundus Spectabilis. Nuremberg: Homann’s Heirs 1742)
It is a very unique building at this time, a starting point for tower observatories -- comparable to other Mathematical Towers:
Clementinum Prague (1722), Zwehrenturm in Kassel (1710), Specola - Bologna Observatory (1712), Old Vienna Academy Observatory -- tower on the top (1755), Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera of the Jesuits in Milano (1762), Padova (Padua) Observatory (1767), Mannheim Observatory (1772).
Very large tower observatories are:
Kremsmünster, Austria (1749), Mathematical Tower of the University Breslau / Wrocław (1791), Bogotá Observatory, Columbia (1803).
Threats or potential threats
Rundetårn (Round Tower), , Købmagergade 52A (Pedestrian street), 1150 Copenhagen, Denmark
Location
Lat. 55° 40′ 52.86″ N, long. 12° 34′ 33.0204″ E, elevation 16m above mean sea level.
IAU observatory code
---
Description of (scientific/cultural/natural) heritage
Fig. 1. Rundetårn (Round Tower), Copenhagen (Wikipedia)
The new observatory, the ten-storey round tower (Rundetårn), part of the Trinitatis church, was built in 1637/42 by the architect Hans Steenwinkel the Younger (1587--1639). The Rebus on the south facade refers to the patron King Christian IV. (1577--1648), King of Denmark and Norway of 1588 to 1648.
Fig. 2. 209-m-Spiral Ramp ("Donkey Stairway") in Rundetårn, Copenhagen (Wikipedia, Mariano ZF Barcelona)
The 209-m-Spiral Ramp ("Donkey Stairway", Eselstreppe, equestrian staircase) is unique in European architecture.
The building (Stellaburgis Hafniens) was used for scientific purposes by the University of Copenhagen until 1861, as an astronomical observatory, as a student church and as a university library (founded in 1482). The platform in 35-m height offers excellent observation conditions. In the Great Fire of 1728 the Trinitatis Complex was severely damaged but was rebuilt. The Round Tower is the oldest observatory in Europe, still in operation, as a Public Observatory.
History
Fig. 3. Rundetårn, Copenhagen, Rebus "1642" (Wikipedia, Christian Bickel)
The first director
Christian Sørensen Severin, called Longomontanus (1562--1647) began in 1589 as an assistant to Tycho Brahe in Uraniborg, studied from 1597 to 1602 in Breslau (Wrocław), Danzig (Gdańsk), Königsberg (Kaliningrad) and Rostock, and in 1605 was appointed as a first professor at the University of Copenhagen. His work Astronomia Danica (Amsterdam 1622) was dedicated to Christian IV.
He proposed to replace Tycho’s lost observatories Uraniborg and Stjerneborg, Island Hven, Denmark (today Ven, Sweden), which were destroyed in 1601.
In 1929 the platform on the tower was replaced by a dome.
State of preservation
The buiding is still in good condition.
Comparison with related/similar sites
Fig. 3. Rundetårn, Copenhagen (1642), (Doppelmayr, Johann Gabriel: Atlas Coelestis in quo Mundus Spectabilis. Nuremberg: Homann’s Heirs 1742)
It is a very unique building at this time, a starting point for tower observatories -- comparable to other Mathematical Towers:
Clementinum Prague (1722), Zwehrenturm in Kassel (1710), Specola - Bologna Observatory (1712), Old Vienna Academy Observatory -- tower on the top (1755), Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera of the Jesuits in Milano (1762), Padova (Padua) Observatory (1767), Mannheim Observatory (1772).
Very large tower observatories are:
Kremsmünster, Austria (1749), Mathematical Tower of the University Breslau / Wrocław (1791), Bogotá Observatory, Columbia (1803).
Threats or potential threats
Lat. 55° 40′ 52.86″ N, long. 12° 34′ 33.0204″ E, elevation 16m above mean sea level.
IAU observatory code
---
Description of (scientific/cultural/natural) heritage
Fig. 1. Rundetårn (Round Tower), Copenhagen (Wikipedia)
The new observatory, the ten-storey round tower (Rundetårn), part of the Trinitatis church, was built in 1637/42 by the architect Hans Steenwinkel the Younger (1587--1639). The Rebus on the south facade refers to the patron King Christian IV. (1577--1648), King of Denmark and Norway of 1588 to 1648.
Fig. 2. 209-m-Spiral Ramp ("Donkey Stairway") in Rundetårn, Copenhagen (Wikipedia, Mariano ZF Barcelona)
The 209-m-Spiral Ramp ("Donkey Stairway", Eselstreppe, equestrian staircase) is unique in European architecture.
The building (Stellaburgis Hafniens) was used for scientific purposes by the University of Copenhagen until 1861, as an astronomical observatory, as a student church and as a university library (founded in 1482). The platform in 35-m height offers excellent observation conditions. In the Great Fire of 1728 the Trinitatis Complex was severely damaged but was rebuilt. The Round Tower is the oldest observatory in Europe, still in operation, as a Public Observatory.
History
Fig. 3. Rundetårn, Copenhagen, Rebus "1642" (Wikipedia, Christian Bickel)
The first director
Christian Sørensen Severin, called Longomontanus (1562--1647) began in 1589 as an assistant to Tycho Brahe in Uraniborg, studied from 1597 to 1602 in Breslau (Wrocław), Danzig (Gdańsk), Königsberg (Kaliningrad) and Rostock, and in 1605 was appointed as a first professor at the University of Copenhagen. His work Astronomia Danica (Amsterdam 1622) was dedicated to Christian IV.
He proposed to replace Tycho’s lost observatories Uraniborg and Stjerneborg, Island Hven, Denmark (today Ven, Sweden), which were destroyed in 1601.
In 1929 the platform on the tower was replaced by a dome.
State of preservation
The buiding is still in good condition.
Comparison with related/similar sites
Fig. 3. Rundetårn, Copenhagen (1642), (Doppelmayr, Johann Gabriel: Atlas Coelestis in quo Mundus Spectabilis. Nuremberg: Homann’s Heirs 1742)
It is a very unique building at this time, a starting point for tower observatories -- comparable to other Mathematical Towers:
Clementinum Prague (1722), Zwehrenturm in Kassel (1710), Specola - Bologna Observatory (1712), Old Vienna Academy Observatory -- tower on the top (1755), Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera of the Jesuits in Milano (1762), Padova (Padua) Observatory (1767), Mannheim Observatory (1772).
Very large tower observatories are:
Kremsmünster, Austria (1749), Mathematical Tower of the University Breslau / Wrocław (1791), Bogotá Observatory, Columbia (1803).
Threats or potential threats
---
Description of (scientific/cultural/natural) heritage
Fig. 1. Rundetårn (Round Tower), Copenhagen (Wikipedia)
The new observatory, the ten-storey round tower (Rundetårn), part of the Trinitatis church, was built in 1637/42 by the architect Hans Steenwinkel the Younger (1587--1639). The Rebus on the south facade refers to the patron King Christian IV. (1577--1648), King of Denmark and Norway of 1588 to 1648.
Fig. 2. 209-m-Spiral Ramp ("Donkey Stairway") in Rundetårn, Copenhagen (Wikipedia, Mariano ZF Barcelona)
The 209-m-Spiral Ramp ("Donkey Stairway", Eselstreppe, equestrian staircase) is unique in European architecture.
The building (Stellaburgis Hafniens) was used for scientific purposes by the University of Copenhagen until 1861, as an astronomical observatory, as a student church and as a university library (founded in 1482). The platform in 35-m height offers excellent observation conditions. In the Great Fire of 1728 the Trinitatis Complex was severely damaged but was rebuilt. The Round Tower is the oldest observatory in Europe, still in operation, as a Public Observatory.
History
Fig. 3. Rundetårn, Copenhagen, Rebus "1642" (Wikipedia, Christian Bickel)
The first director
Christian Sørensen Severin, called Longomontanus (1562--1647) began in 1589 as an assistant to Tycho Brahe in Uraniborg, studied from 1597 to 1602 in Breslau (Wrocław), Danzig (Gdańsk), Königsberg (Kaliningrad) and Rostock, and in 1605 was appointed as a first professor at the University of Copenhagen. His work Astronomia Danica (Amsterdam 1622) was dedicated to Christian IV.
He proposed to replace Tycho’s lost observatories Uraniborg and Stjerneborg, Island Hven, Denmark (today Ven, Sweden), which were destroyed in 1601.
In 1929 the platform on the tower was replaced by a dome.
State of preservation
The buiding is still in good condition.
Comparison with related/similar sites
Fig. 3. Rundetårn, Copenhagen (1642), (Doppelmayr, Johann Gabriel: Atlas Coelestis in quo Mundus Spectabilis. Nuremberg: Homann’s Heirs 1742)
It is a very unique building at this time, a starting point for tower observatories -- comparable to other Mathematical Towers:
Clementinum Prague (1722), Zwehrenturm in Kassel (1710), Specola - Bologna Observatory (1712), Old Vienna Academy Observatory -- tower on the top (1755), Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera of the Jesuits in Milano (1762), Padova (Padua) Observatory (1767), Mannheim Observatory (1772).
Very large tower observatories are:
Kremsmünster, Austria (1749), Mathematical Tower of the University Breslau / Wrocław (1791), Bogotá Observatory, Columbia (1803).
Threats or potential threats
Fig. 1. Rundetårn (Round Tower), Copenhagen (Wikipedia)
The new observatory, the ten-storey round tower (Rundetårn), part of the Trinitatis church, was built in 1637/42 by the architect Hans Steenwinkel the Younger (1587--1639). The Rebus on the south facade refers to the patron King Christian IV. (1577--1648), King of Denmark and Norway of 1588 to 1648.
Fig. 2. 209-m-Spiral Ramp ("Donkey Stairway") in Rundetårn, Copenhagen (Wikipedia, Mariano ZF Barcelona)
The 209-m-Spiral Ramp ("Donkey Stairway", Eselstreppe, equestrian staircase) is unique in European architecture.
The building (Stellaburgis Hafniens) was used for scientific purposes by the University of Copenhagen until 1861, as an astronomical observatory, as a student church and as a university library (founded in 1482). The platform in 35-m height offers excellent observation conditions. In the Great Fire of 1728 the Trinitatis Complex was severely damaged but was rebuilt. The Round Tower is the oldest observatory in Europe, still in operation, as a Public Observatory.
History
Fig. 3. Rundetårn, Copenhagen, Rebus "1642" (Wikipedia, Christian Bickel)
The first director
Christian Sørensen Severin, called Longomontanus (1562--1647) began in 1589 as an assistant to Tycho Brahe in Uraniborg, studied from 1597 to 1602 in Breslau (Wrocław), Danzig (Gdańsk), Königsberg (Kaliningrad) and Rostock, and in 1605 was appointed as a first professor at the University of Copenhagen. His work Astronomia Danica (Amsterdam 1622) was dedicated to Christian IV.
He proposed to replace Tycho’s lost observatories Uraniborg and Stjerneborg, Island Hven, Denmark (today Ven, Sweden), which were destroyed in 1601.
In 1929 the platform on the tower was replaced by a dome.
State of preservation
The buiding is still in good condition.
Comparison with related/similar sites
Fig. 3. Rundetårn, Copenhagen (1642), (Doppelmayr, Johann Gabriel: Atlas Coelestis in quo Mundus Spectabilis. Nuremberg: Homann’s Heirs 1742)
It is a very unique building at this time, a starting point for tower observatories -- comparable to other Mathematical Towers:
Clementinum Prague (1722), Zwehrenturm in Kassel (1710), Specola - Bologna Observatory (1712), Old Vienna Academy Observatory -- tower on the top (1755), Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera of the Jesuits in Milano (1762), Padova (Padua) Observatory (1767), Mannheim Observatory (1772).
Very large tower observatories are:
Kremsmünster, Austria (1749), Mathematical Tower of the University Breslau / Wrocław (1791), Bogotá Observatory, Columbia (1803).
Threats or potential threats
Fig. 3. Rundetårn, Copenhagen, Rebus "1642" (Wikipedia, Christian Bickel)
The first director
Christian Sørensen Severin, called Longomontanus (1562--1647) began in 1589 as an assistant to Tycho Brahe in Uraniborg, studied from 1597 to 1602 in Breslau (Wrocław), Danzig (Gdańsk), Königsberg (Kaliningrad) and Rostock, and in 1605 was appointed as a first professor at the University of Copenhagen. His work Astronomia Danica (Amsterdam 1622) was dedicated to Christian IV.
He proposed to replace Tycho’s lost observatories Uraniborg and Stjerneborg, Island Hven, Denmark (today Ven, Sweden), which were destroyed in 1601.
In 1929 the platform on the tower was replaced by a dome.
State of preservation
The buiding is still in good condition.
Comparison with related/similar sites
Fig. 3. Rundetårn, Copenhagen (1642), (Doppelmayr, Johann Gabriel: Atlas Coelestis in quo Mundus Spectabilis. Nuremberg: Homann’s Heirs 1742)
It is a very unique building at this time, a starting point for tower observatories -- comparable to other Mathematical Towers:
Clementinum Prague (1722), Zwehrenturm in Kassel (1710), Specola - Bologna Observatory (1712), Old Vienna Academy Observatory -- tower on the top (1755), Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera of the Jesuits in Milano (1762), Padova (Padua) Observatory (1767), Mannheim Observatory (1772).
Very large tower observatories are:
Kremsmünster, Austria (1749), Mathematical Tower of the University Breslau / Wrocław (1791), Bogotá Observatory, Columbia (1803).
Threats or potential threats
The buiding is still in good condition.
Comparison with related/similar sites
Fig. 3. Rundetårn, Copenhagen (1642), (Doppelmayr, Johann Gabriel: Atlas Coelestis in quo Mundus Spectabilis. Nuremberg: Homann’s Heirs 1742)
It is a very unique building at this time, a starting point for tower observatories -- comparable to other Mathematical Towers:
Clementinum Prague (1722), Zwehrenturm in Kassel (1710), Specola - Bologna Observatory (1712), Old Vienna Academy Observatory -- tower on the top (1755), Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera of the Jesuits in Milano (1762), Padova (Padua) Observatory (1767), Mannheim Observatory (1772).
Very large tower observatories are:
Kremsmünster, Austria (1749), Mathematical Tower of the University Breslau / Wrocław (1791), Bogotá Observatory, Columbia (1803).
Threats or potential threats
Fig. 3. Rundetårn, Copenhagen (1642), (Doppelmayr, Johann Gabriel: Atlas Coelestis in quo Mundus Spectabilis. Nuremberg: Homann’s Heirs 1742)
It is a very unique building at this time, a starting point for tower observatories -- comparable to other Mathematical Towers:
Clementinum Prague (1722), Zwehrenturm in Kassel (1710), Specola - Bologna Observatory (1712), Old Vienna Academy Observatory -- tower on the top (1755), Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera of the Jesuits in Milano (1762), Padova (Padua) Observatory (1767), Mannheim Observatory (1772).
Very large tower observatories are:
Kremsmünster, Austria (1749), Mathematical Tower of the University Breslau / Wrocław (1791), Bogotá Observatory, Columbia (1803).