I think the city area of the Carlsberg Brewery is one of the best preserved symbols of Danish industry. I get a nostalgic feeling walking the streets here, especially the old townhouses in the far north of the area. They were meant for the employees of the brewery and these gray brick buildings just ooze with 19th century hardships of the working class. But of course now this is quite desirable property.

The class distinction is made significantly clearer when considering J.C. Jacobsen‘s garden. The founder of Carlsberg had his private villa and garden on the grounds of the brewery. He had his close friend, landscape architect Rudolph Rothe, make it for him. The beauty of this garden is the secludedness and the secrecy about it. You see, it was closed to the public for 160 years until 2008. And some of the trees here date from when the garden was laid out in 1849! It’s like the public still hasn’t realized it’s there – you won’t meet a lot of visitors if any at all and during summertime it’s a great spot for taking a breather and hopefully enjoy some sun rays.

You’ll find the entrance by Dansehallerne and Café Elefanten on the North Eastern corner of the garden, here you can grab a coffee to go on the way in. I also recommend looking at the rest of the “Carlsberg city”, for instance the Elephant Gate on Ny Carlsberg Vej, which I think is such an amazing piece of sculptural craftsmanship.