The Round Tower
A ramp, not a staircase
The thing everybody remembers about Rundetårn is that you do not climb stairs. A spiral ramp of seven and a half turns winds up 34.8 m, and it was built that way so that a horse and carriage could deliver to the University library above the Church of the Trinity. In 1716 Tsar Peter the Great rode up it, with his wife reportedly coming behind him in a carriage, which is the sort of detail that sounds invented and is not.
What it lost in 1728
The fire of 20–23 October 1728 burned 35,000 volumes of the University library held here, along with instruments and records belonging to Tycho Brahe and Ole Rømer. The tower stood; the archive did not. That fire took 47% of the medieval core of the city — see the great fire of 1728. The observatory kept working until 1860.
The tower as a starting point
The self-guided murder mystery hunt set in 1899 begins at Rundetårn and runs on foot to Gråbrødretorv, Købmagergade, Strøget, Vor Frue Kirke, Gammeltorv and Vor Frue Plads. Detective constables, a missing person and a bloody briefcase; fully analogue, no phone needed, just a pen. It works best in groups of two to four and needs a minimum of two. Details on the Round Tower hunt page, and the choice between that and a live guide is on guided or self-guided.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the Round Tower have a ramp instead of stairs?
So a horse and carriage could reach the library at the top. The ramp makes 7½ turns and climbs 34.8 m above street level.
Did someone really ride a horse up the Round Tower?
Yes. Tsar Peter the Great rode up the ramp on horseback in 1716, and his wife reportedly followed in a carriage.
Is there a tour that starts at the Round Tower?
The self-guided murder mystery hunt set in 1899 starts there. See the Round Tower hunt.