S_UraniborgOgStjærneborg

40

U R A N I B O R G T h e t o p - s t o r e y . The top of the house , r igh t u n d e r the roof, was occup ied by eigh t small room s for the s tuden ts. In the r e con s tru c tion the commun ica tion w ith the second s to rey is imag ined by w ay of a staircase in the eas te rn passage, the c omm un ic a tion be tween the top -s to rey and the octagonal t am b o u r above in the cen tre is p rov id ed by me an s of a staircase r o u n d the open ing in the middle. P l a t e 4. Long itud ina l section towa rd s west. The su rface me a su re s of the bu ild ing a re known , bu t the sta temen ts con c e rn ing the me a su re s of he igh t as well as the surface me a su re s are mu tu a lly d isag ree ing in the c on t em po r a ry sources. In the recon s tru c tion of the me a su re s of he igh t it has the re fo re no t been • possib le to use any t h in g bu t the views of the eas te rn fron t of U r an ibo rg execu ted in Tycho B r a h e ’s time. On the left of the section is the sou th e rn pro jec tion w ith the chemica l la bo ra to ry at the bo ttom , of w h ich we h a d some in fo rm a tion t h r o u g h the p ic tu re in the m u r a l q u a d r a n t as well as from A stronom iae In s tau ra tae Mechanica. Above, the l i b r a ry and study . Here the g rea t globe was p laced u n d e r a hem isphe rica l cove r wh ich cou ld be lowe red over the globe in o r d e r to pro tec t it from dust. The small g lobe in the n iche of the b a ckg round , the two book-shelves, and the meda llion -po r tra its of F red e r ick II and Queen Soph ia we re rep r e s en ted in the p ic tu re over the m u r a l q u ad r an t . Above, the section shows the large ob s e rv a to ry and the s o u th e r nm o s t of the sma lle r obse rva to ries on the gallery. The obse rva to ries had con ica l- shaped roofs, the bo a rd s of w h ich cou ld be removed in case of observations. The section in the m idd le shows the b a s em en t below. In the sou th -eas t cellar the sta ircase from the »w inter-room« is seen. Between the »winter-room« and the no r th -ea s te rn gu e s t- room th e foun ta in p laced in the in te rsec ting po in t of the four passages. The passages must, among s t o th e r th ings, have got some light from the c ircu la r w indow s over the portals. The eas te rn c ircu la r w in d ow is s hown b e h i n d the foun tain . In the second s to rey one looks into »the b lue room« and »the red room« an d — in the cen tre — tow a rd s the wall of the »summe r-room« . At top, the section is laid t h r o u g h two ga r re ts and the mo s t easte rly of the fou r r idg e - tu r re ts c ommun ic a ting w ith the gallery s u r r o u n d i n g the tambou r . The section th rough the n o r t h e r n pro jec tion is laid t h r o u g h the s em ic ircu la r passage, the cellar of the ro tu n d a , an d the b r ick -bu ilt k itchen-well. The excavations have p roved tha t the cellar in ques tion was not so deep as the co r r e s pond ing cellar in south . The dep th of the k itchen -we ll is stated to be 40 ells. By p r e s su re the w a te r was made to rise, p r e sum ab ly into a cistern in the cen tral dome , from w h ich it was led th rough condu its into the rooms of the castle. Two wa te rcocks in b ron ze from U r an ib o r g a re still p rese rved in the h istorical m u s eum of the un ive rs ity of Lund (fig. 26). It was Georg Labenwo lf, the me ch an ic from Nü rnb e rg , w ho h e lped Tycho w ith the installation of the castle’s s upp ly of w a t e r . 1 The section th r o u g h the first s to rey is laid th r o u g h the passage from the- no r th - e a s te rn r o om (the »red room«) and t h r o u g h the k itchen wh ich in the recon s truc tion is supposed to be covered w ith a b a rre l vault. Above, the obse rva to ry on the ro tu n d a is seen and the n o r th e r nm o s t obse rva to ry . P l a t e 5. T h e t r a n s v e r s e s e c t i o n t o w a r d s s o u t h is laid th r o u g h th e two en trances and , in the first storey, th r o u g h the passages connec ting the two. In the Second sto rey the section is laid th r o u g h the » summe r-room« , the sou th w indow of wh ich is seen on the right, and f u r th e r t h r o u g h the red and yellow room. F rom the gallery in the t h i rd s torey access is imag ined to the d om e - room s ove r the en trances and the eight garrets. In the recon s truc tion a skylight is s hown in the room in the t am b o u r from wh ich all the sto reys are lighted. In the dome the c lockwo rk is placed. P l a t e 6 . T h e s o u t h e l e v a t i o n was n ev e r delinea ted in Ty cho ’s time. Nevertheless, the re con ­ s truc tion m u s t in the m a in features be correct. It shows the cap ric iousnes s and va rie ty of the erection , and , in add ition , the stric t symme trica l a r r ang em en t on e ithe r side of the v igo rous ly m a rk e d p rinc ipa l axis. P l a t e 7. A lthough the bu ild ing ma te ria ls are now h e r e ind icated , the chances are tha t U ran ibo rg was bu ilt of red b ricks w ith decora tive po in ts in s and s tone and lime-stone. F r agm en t s of th e la tte r have been found. But the face of the m a so n r y was p rob ab ly plastered . The p ilaste r-strips on the two b rick -bu ilt sem ic ircu la r passages are no t shown in the con tempo ra ry r ep rodu c tion s of U ran ibo rg 's east elevation, bu t they are s hown in the con tem po r a ry g round -floo r plans. In the r ep roduc tion of the east elevation of U ran ibo rg from Ep isto lae Astronomicae a figure is seen in the n iche over the po r ta l, the fo rme r hav ing p rob ab ly been in highrelief. It is ev iden tly iden tica l w ith the allegorical rep resen ta tion of A s tronomy wh ich is r ep rodu c ed as a frontispiece to Tycho B r ah e ’s writings. A co r r e s pond ing allegorical rep resen ta tion of Chem is try had p r e sum ab l y its place over the west en tran ce (cfr. figs. 29-31). These two figures thu s symbo lized the stud ies to wh ich U r an ibo rg was consecrated . In the con tempo r a ry rep rodu c tion s no socle is shown . Yet, b eyond all doub t, it existed as ind icated

1 Friis, T ychonis Brahei epistolae, p. 39; 53. Id., Sam linger til dansk Bygnings- og Kunsthistorie, p. 310 ff.