Windmills and the Round Tower

On the east side of Alisal Road, you’ll see one of the town’s most photographed landmarks. This windmill was commissioned by Solvang businessman Ray Paaske and built in 1963. The design was inspired by a mill near Copenhagen and is the second one built in downtown Solvang. The first windmill built in Solvang was located at 1547 Mission Drive and the third is known as The Blue Windmill at the corner of Copenhagen Drive and Second Street. (These windmills are mentioned at other stops on the tour as well.) Although none of the structures in town are working mills, they are certainly popular and beautiful as they turn in the breeze! Behind the Alisal windmill, as it commonly called, is a one-third-sized replica of Copenhagen’s famous 17th Century Rundetaarn or “Round Tower.” The original Rundetaarn truly towers over downtown Copenhagen; it was built by King Christian IV in 1642 to house Trinitatis Church on the ground level, a library above that, and an observatory tower on top (the oldest in Denmark). You can find the story of the Copenhagen Round Tower on a plaque on the Solvang Tower in the courtyard.