One royal building project bundled a church, an observatory and a university library - and Copenhagen got the Trinitatis complex. Trinitatis Kirke at Landemaerket 2, behind the Round Tower, was commissioned by Christian IV in 1637 as a church for the students and professors of the University of Copenhagen, sharing its structure with the Rundetaarn observatory at its west end and the university library in the vast attic above the nave - faith, science and learning under one roof, in the king's characteristic style. Building ran under successive masters - Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger, Leonard Blasius, Albertus Mathiesen - with the tower finished 1642-43, the last vault stone set in 1651 and consecration on Trinity Sunday, 1 June 1656; the library opened above in 1657, reached by the tower's famous helical ramp. The interior measures a full fifty metres by twenty, possibly dimensioned by the library's floor-space needs. The fire of 1728 gutted the church and consumed the library's collections; the reopening in 1731 brought the Baroque interior that still defines the room - altar, pulpit and organ front from 1730-32. Soren Kierkegaard was confirmed here in 1829, and the church served the university formally until 1868, its parish dating from 1683. Today Trinitatis works as parish church, concert room and tourist waypoint at once: the Marcussen organ of 1956 anchors a busy programme of classical concerts, the old Library Hall upstairs - part of the Round Tower's exhibition circuit - shows art and hosts events, and opening hours run Monday to Saturday 9:30-16:30 with Sunday service. The Round Tower's spiral ramp remains one of Copenhagen's essential climbs, delivering visitors past the church attic to the 1642 observatory platform and its rooftop view of the Latin Quarter.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: Landemaerket 2, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1150

Website: https://www.trinitatiskirke.dk

Opening Date: 01/06/1656