The Bells are Ringing

The street passing by the Round Tower was intensely crowded around the year 1900, and architects almost lined up with suggestions on how to solve the problem. One of them suggested to move the the old tower! In this audio story you’ll learn about some of the extraordinary ideas that were discussed at the time. Narrator: Stephanie Hayes

På Købmagergade ved Rundetaarn var der en intens trafik omkring år 1900, og arkitekterne stod nærmest i kø for at komme med forslag til at løse problemet. Det blev blandt andet foreslået at flytte det gamle tårn! I denne lydfortælling kan du høre om nogle af de ekstraordinære idéer, der blev diskuteret dengang. Fortæller: Mikkel Hansen

Listen and learn about the history of the Bell Loft. Bells have been rung here, but there are several other interesting stories connected to this very special place in the Round Tower.

Did you notice the dashes of paint on some of the wooden pillars on the Bell Loft? Listen here and understand why they are there. 

Today the predominant smell on the Bell Loft is probably Pine wood, but through history there's probably been several exciting scents up here. The space has been used for a variety of interesting things, like drying animal hides or storage of museum objects. 

The wood work on the Bell Loft is made from Pomeranian Pine. It was constructed after the Great Fire of 1728 where everything burned down. Listen and learn about the very particular loft construction on the Bell Loft today.

Before regular people of Copenhagen had clocks and watches in their own homes, the Round Tower was responsible for the so-called authorized time and made sure everyone knew what time it was. Today there's a clockwork in the Bell Loft to remind us of that part of Round Tower history.

Up on the roof, hidden in the ridge turret, hang the bells of Trinitatis Church. Daily they ring as the sun rises and sets, but in the Great Fire of 1728, the bells melted and had to be recast anew. 

Mapping and surveying used to be a discipline associated with astronomy. That's why it made sense in the mid 1800s to make the center of the Round Tower the starting point, when the entire country of Denmark was to be mapped by the chief astronomer of the Round Tower, Thomas Bugge. 

Lyt og lær om Ringerloftets historie. Her er der selvfølgelig blevet ringet med klokker, men der er også andre spændende historier knyttet til dette særlige sted i Rundetaarn.