Jarmers Tårn

Jarmers Tårn is a preserved tower ruin on a small plaza in Copenhagen, standing on a pedestrian island. Its red monk bricks form patterns of darker, burnt stones. The ruin is the only surviving part of Copenhagen’s former fortification wall, which once included eleven towers. You can see it from across the street or beside a nearby lion statue.

Construction began in the early sixteenth century, around 1500, when Copenhagen strengthened its defences against attack. The name recalls Prince Jaromar II of Rügen, whose Wendish forces broke through Copenhagen’s defences in 1259. The troops plundered Copenhagen and destroyed Absalon’s Castle on Slotsholmen. After that assault, the city rebuilt and reinforced its walls, creating the defensive system that later included this tower. Urban expansion eventually removed the other fortifications and towers. The tower cannot be entered, but its exterior remains visible from the surrounding pavement. Excavation and restoration in the 1880s preserved the ruin for Copenhagen. Its burnt-brick pattern keeps the old defensive wall tangible beside the city’s modern streets.