Whether you are a tourist or native Dane, The Round Tower is a classic attraction to visit in Copenhagen. In fact, most kindergartens and middle schools has it as a target of visit simply because of its historical value and unique, spiraling interior which is quite different from the usual places you can visit. I must admit, the many visits I have had to The Round Tower while being a young kid lowered my expectations slightly. I suspected my earlier experience as a kid would raise the expectation too high when visiting it as a full adult. Because, as you know, everything is often bigger and more fascinating when being a kid. Sometimes, what was fun in childhood loses its charm when being experienced as an adult. However, what I discovered about The Round Tower was a positive surprise. The tower didn’t bore me! Instead, it made me intrigued and curious about the tower. Yes, the tower is not a full-day attraction, but it manages to give the visitor an enlightening and entertaining time, even if it only takes 45-60 min. to see the whole tower.
Following the history of the tower is quite an intriguing journey. It was Christian 4th. who ordered the building of the tower and it was meant to be used as an oberservatory for investigation of the sky. Later on the tower has been used for a variety of purposes, but today it is used primarily as a tourist attraction and part-time observator because the tower is 36 meters tall and thus gives a nice view over the city when standing on the top.
As you climb the tower you will discover several spots located in the tower where you can stop and explore historical elements of the tower’s history. Typically, the first stop in The Round Tower is the exhibition floor. Here people can typically visit a temporary exhibition which can be about anything from fairytales by H. C. Andersen to focusing on a particular artist’s paintings. The exhibitions don’t necessarily have anything to do with the Tower itself or its history, but it can still be an interesting addition to the experience.
Close to the exhibition area you will also see an old latrine and an old astronomy map both makes for interesting short observation, though will probably not make people totally amazed. I would say the tower has an efficient and excellent presentation as each site has their own paper catalogues in Danish and English giving excellent insight and explanation of the different elements.
Further up the tower, you will also discover the Bell Loft where you will be able to have a peak into the old ceiling room. The Bell Loft also shows key historical elements in the form of various sorts of discoveries found while excavating and renovating the tower. It feels like a small museum about the Tower which fits really well into the whole experience.
Close to the top is also the Hollow Core placed in the middle of the tower. Basically, it is a long cylinder going 25 meters down. The story is about a boy who fell down from this height because he was playing in the tower. Surprisingly, the boy survived and they managed to rescue him by cutting a hole to his location. Nowadays, you can step into one of the recesses access to the core where you can stand on a glass floor and look down into the hole. Quite a scary and dizzy experience if you don’t feel comfortable with heights like me. However, it is a pretty cool feature as it is a bit different from the conventional view you get when looking out of the tower from the windows.
Talking about the view, there is no doubt the top has a pretty fine outlook of Copenhagen. Although, you can find other buildings that gives an impressive view over Copenhagen, the Round Tower is probably the most accessible one. However, you won’t get the same view from inside the tower because of the bars blocking the windows. A strange thing, but the blocking of the view visitor forces you to wait until you reach the top.
In general, I am amazed at how tightly the tower is structured as an attraction. It is quite accessible having plenty of interesting parts combined with the walk towards the top of the tower. Getting to the top gives you an amazing view when the weather has clear blue sky really makes the experience very good. The tower has something for the avid history fan while having plenty of fun for kids and crazy adults who would like to run up and down the tower, though this makes a lot of annoying noise as the acoustics is pretty bad causing plenty of echo throughout the whole tower. The top view also have some old map drawings showing the name of some key buildings you can see, though I think they might need a slight update as some of them are a bit inaccurate since new buildings have popped up over time.
The standard price is 40 dkk. which is a pretty sound and fair price for the experience, though it is a better investment when the weather is really good as it provides the clearest views from the top. However, the climbing is fairly steep. If you are not used to walk up steep hills or similar it might feel a bit tough at times, and I wouldn’t recommend try running up the tower as it requires some healthy amount of stamina to do.
Overall, I think The Round Tower is a fine visit. It might have been heavily hyped due to its central location on Strøget, but its curators have done an excellent job making the visit a coherent experience where text and catalogues are fully full translated, and the tower provides a charming progressive spiral climb to a nice finish on the top. Each exhibition is both tight and neatly structured giving an interesting insight into the tower’s history and functions. It is surprisingly varied in its appeal as both children and adults can find great pleasure from climbing the magnificent tower. It is just an excellent example on how to make a short, yet great attraction that just feels fun to visit, especially on the sunny days.
Visit if…you want a cheap, yet, excellent and unusual tower climbing where the top view of Copenhagen is worth the pennies spend.
Avoid if…the day is rainy as the tower’s top view is best on a sunny day with few clouds, or you can’t stand having to climb the tower as it can be a struggle if you are in bad health.
Accessibility: 4/5 (Good)
Interaction: 3/5 (Fair)
Learning: 4/5 (Good)
Price: 4/5 (Good)
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