The Round Tower

 

One of the must-sees for many tourists in Copenhagen is the Round Tower, Rundertårn in Danish. Built by Christian IV in 1632 it is still used as an observatory, though much better ones has replaced it, so it's now mostly for show. The view from the 30m tower is a nice one as most of the buildings in the inner city is lower than the viewing platform.

 

Round Tower

The Rundetårn (English: Round Tower) is a 17th-century tower located in central Copenhagen, and was built during the reign of Christian IV. It was built as an astronomical observatory and is today one of the few high spots for tourists to see Copenhagen.

A fun fact about it: In 1989, Thomas Olsen went up and down the Round Tower on a unicycle in 1 minute and 48.7 seconds, which is a world record.

-RS

Another view from the Rundetårn

With it being one of the few tall buildings in the centre of town easily accessible to public it is always worthwhile visiting this structure.

The foundation stone was laid in 1637 and was the first stage of the King’s Trinitatis Complex - which had the main objective to congregate three major facilities for scholars and students at the University: an astronomical observatory, a University Church and a University Library.

Today's view is towards the Amalienborg castle area with the Marble church in the middle-ground.

-RS

Looking out to Østerbro

Østerbro, slightly northeast of Nørrebro, has remained an uncluttered and suburban residential area since the 19th century. The train station, Østerport, was built in 1894–97 to help workers travel to the city centre, on the site of Copenhagen’s fortified eastern gate.

This photograph was taken from the Rundetårn and shows Rikshospitalet and Fælledparken on the horison and the Botanical Gardens in the middle-ground.

-RS

Latin quarter

Looking out from the Rundetårn towards the west one can see a large part of the Latin Quarter of Copenhagen.

This area is home to Copenhagen’s university, where Latin used to be the spoken language. One of the oldest areas in the city, it is full of 17th-century buildings that were built by the architect king, Christian IV. Although there have been dwellings here since medieval times, most of them were destroyed in the disastrous fire that spread across Copenhagen in 1728 . Today, the Latin Quarter is a lively and bustling student area brimming with shops and cafés.

-RS