Culture Night with stargazing, winning photos and lighttrail

Finally, the newly restored Observatory is ready to welcome visitors, and the tower’s skilled astronomy guides are ready to take you on a journey into space. It is just one of the highlights of this year’s Culture Night programme at the Round Tower, where you can also see a unique collection of photographs on display in the Spiral Ramp.

This year, the Round Tower is celebrating the 350th anniversary of Ole Rømer’s discovery of the speed of light. That is why Culture Night 2026 will be an evening dedicated to light. We will illuminate the tower from bottom to top through the Spiral Ramp and turn our thoughts towards the universe.

The light will lead visitors up to the Observatory, which has reopened to the public following an extensive restoration. Here, visitors will have the opportunity to look through the historic, newly restored telescope and gaze out into the evening sky. If the weather permits it, there is a good chance that Saturn, among other celestial objects, will be visible.

At the Observatory, our astronomy guides will be on hand to help visitors navigate the night sky and explain what they are seeing through the telescope.

Winning Images and Astronomy Outreach

The illuminated Spiral Walk will also feature the winning images from the major photography competition that visitors to the Round Tower have been able to enter throughout the year. The competition has focused on the unique architecture of the complex and the special role that light plays within it.

As they make their way up through the Spiral Ramp, visitors will encounter the Round Tower’s astronomy guides, who will use engaging presentations and visual tools to share fascinating insights into the sun, moon, and stars.

Halfway up, in the Library Hall, visitors can experience two exhibitions exploring the theme of light. On the way into the hall, they will first encounter this year’s introductory exhibition, Ole Rømer and the Great Discovery, which tells the full story of the scientist and former director of the Round Tower, Ole Rømer, and his revolutionary discovery of the speed of light.

Inside the Library Hall, the fourth and final exhibition in this year’s series exploring light unfolds. Light Echoes brings together artists, curators, and astrophysicists in an exhibition exploring how the connection between light and time shapes our understanding of cosmic phenomena. Through four installations and an immersive soundscape, scientific knowledge unfolds as an experiential and immersive field rather than a fixed image.

There is limited capacity both in the Round Tower and at the Observatory, so please be aware that queues may occur.

Please note: The Round Tower cannot guarantee that celestial objects will be visible through the telescope if weather conditions do not permit it. If the weather is unsuitable, the Observatory will still be open, and the Round Tower’s astronomers will share more about the Observatory and its impressive telescope, which can magnify objects between 80 and 450 times.

Please note: Admission is only possible with a Culture Pass on this evening. The Culture Pass will be available in early October.