Tower sights in Copenhagen
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Jens Olsens Clock
You can poke around the main hall of the Rådhus (city hall) on your own but it’s more interesting to make the climb up the 105m clock tower for Jens Olsens Clock, which tops city hall, but expect a decent workout as there are some 300 steps along the way. The clock, designed by Danish astromechanic Jens Olsen (1872–1945) and built at a cost of one million kroner, is of special note to chronometer buffs, displaying not only the local time, but also solar time, sidereal time, sunrises and sunsets, firmament and celestial pole migration, planet revolutions, the Gregorian calendar and even changing holidays, such as Easter.
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Rundetårn
The Rundetårn is a splendid vantage point from which to admire the old city’s red-tiled rooftops and church spires. This vaulted brick tower, 35m high, was built by Christian IV in 1642 and used as an astronomical observatory in conjunction with the nearby university. Although the university erected a newer structure in 1861, amateur astronomers have continued to use the Rundetårn each winter, which gives credence to its claim to be the oldest functioning observatory in Europe.
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C
Vor Frelsers Kirke (Church of Our Saviour)
The extraordinary spire is the main draw at this 17th-century church close to Christiania. It takes a strong resolve to climb all the way to the top, 400 steps and 95m up, as the last 150 steps run around the outside of the tower, narrowing to the point where they literally disappear. The tower was added to the church in 1752 by Lauritz de Thurah, who took his inspiration from Boromini’s tower of St Ivo in Rome.
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