Copenhagen- Christianshavn ?????????????????????????????????????? The spire of the church was consecrated in 1752, more than 50 years after the building of the church had been completed. After more than 250 years as an internationally noted landmark of Copenhagen, the tower and spire now stand in all their splendour following the last great restoration in the 1990s. The city has grown in the meantime, but the view from the tower of Our Saviour's is still the best in town - and the most frightening. It has always been regarded as somewhat of a manhood test to climb up and touch the globe on the summit. That the whole spire is built of oak which can shake a little in a strong wind, adds to the sinking feeling as one stands at the top. The tower on Copenhagen Town Hall is 14 metres taller. The tallest church tower in Denmark on Arhus Cathedral is three metres taller but no tower in Denmark can match the beauty of Our Saviour's tower as the evening sun shines on the gilding ‘like a tongue of fire' (Thurah's Vitruvius III) The architect Lauritz de Thurah (1706-1759) designed the spire, his greatest work, and had it approved and paid for by Christian VI. He was inspired by the university chapel of St. Ivo in Rome where Borromini's Renaissance tower also has an external spiral form. While Borromini built in sandstone, de Thurah used oak, making it possible to achieve the great height of the spire. The spire consists of an external staircase with four twists, starting from the gallery and continuing all the way up. On the way towards the top, the visitor is protected by a gilded iron grating. At the top is a gilded globe from which the gilded figure of Christ with banner looks out over the city. The dimensions of the spire are considerable. It is 90 metres from the ground to Christ's banner and there are 400 steps to be climbed, of which, the last 150 wind around the outside of the spire. The globe at the top can contain 12 grown men and is 2.5 metres in diameter, the Christ figure is three metres tall. A persistent story says that de Thurah committed suicide by jumping from the tower, supposedly because the spire, against King Frederik V's wishes, twisted to the right. This story is untrue, de Thurah died at home in his bed seven years after the consecration of the church, penniless but also respected by his contemporaries. As for Frederik V, he was well satisfied with this new landmark in his city and for shipping. The steps wind to the right as they should if the tower is to be defended with the right hand while the left hand rests on the railing. 7 B.11.vers 2.

From the blurb from sircusonfoot........ "One of the few street performers to emerge from Vorsland in the Kaash Republic – a land with few streets! Ever keen to embrace the new European states (and there are none quite so new as the Kaash Republic) the Festival of Fools is delighted to welcome the man described by Vorsland Herald as “like a man repossessed” Once seen as a threat to the stability of a nation, Dansko has been jailed for crimes against comedy and was finally exiled in 2005. Since then, he has been on a quest to find, in his own words, “the tickle muscle of Europe.” Dansko is eager to convert the world to his unique style of street comedy. See what you think. Since appearing at the 2009 Festival of Fools, Dansko Gida has continued his inexorable rise to obscurity – which helps to avoid any awkward questions from the Borders Agency. Be Prepared for something different." Danska appeared this afternoon at the Circus School as part of the Outside In events being run on Sundays (only 2 more left). Great fun and more than a little surreal........his gift of "sweets" (which were potatoes) to the kids went down very well with the kids. Some of them even threw them back at Danska which was unexpected. Reducing one child to tears was too and his finale of Bum Sumo beggars belief.........getting two adult volunteers to drop their trousers at a family show, well not much to say about that other than if you get a chance to see Danska, do so. You will laugh i guarantee it. (Oh and for the record the fifty pence in his mouth is what he collected busking outside before the show)