A self guided Copenhagen Carlsberg tour: history & attractions of Carlsberg City District

The Carlsberg elephants flank the erstwhile water tower - now a grand gate
The Diplyon that once was a malt chamber is a modern spa in this old beer estate. 
From the ancient brewhouse to its fascinating lighthouse, none of the buildings are left obscure 
Discover how heritage exists with the contemporary when on this Copenhagen Carlsberg tour.

Explore the bustling Carlsberg City District – that once was the birthplace and site of the famous beer brand. Get to know the history of Carlsberg and its key attractions that have been preserved and re-used for various purposes. Along with the insider tips, find a map to help you with a self-guided tour of this unique neighborhood of Copenhagen. 

What comes to your mind when I say Carlsberg District? Possibly just a popular neighborhood named after the famous Danish beer brand? Maybe the beer brewery is located? Or a neighborhood named after the creator of the brand stayed here? Well, as I discovered on my tour of Carlsberg City District, it is much more than that. It is a place where stories of the past coexist with life in the present.

At first glimpse, it appears to be a well-planned neighborhood with contemporary buildings, wide roads and green spaces. However, what makes it an inspiring trail is that many of these buildings are repurposed structures belonging to the original Carlsberg Brewery built in 1847. The entire neighborhood was the Carlsberg brewery estate – with malt magazines, brew houses, draught horse stables, laboratories and the homes of various employees including the founder – J.C Jacobsen and his son.

The fascinating part is that all these structures are still intact and are still being used – but not as a brewery. They have been creatively converted to suit modern-day living alongside the newly constructed skyscrapers. It is this new yet old-age world that you can experience with the original history of Carlsberg when you set out on this trail through this unique hip but heritage neighborhood. If you are a history and architecture buff like me, then you must include Carlsberg Byen in your Copenhagen itinerary.

In this blog post, you will learn about the key attractions that you can see when you visit Carlsberg district. Along with my experience and handy tips, I have included a map that will help you plan your self-guided walking tour of Carlsberg city district. There are suggestions on where to eat as well as prices for ticketed attractions like the Carlsberg Museum (Home of Carlsberg).  

Disclaimer: This article includes affiliate links. This means that at no cost to you, I will receive a small commission if you purchase through my link. Thank you for supporting me with this.

History of Carlsberg

J.C Jacobsen inherited a modest brewing business from his father in Copenhagen. He soon figured that the water quality in the city was not as good as he would have liked for making beer. With the King’s grant, he found a green space on a hillock – away from Copenhagen. He set up his first brewery in 1847 and called it Carlsberg – Carl after his son and Berg referring to Bjerg in Danish which meant a hill.

Set in a sprawling estate of 33 hectares, J.C Jacobsen kept expanding his brewery by adding laboratories and storage facilities. The first brewery caught fire in 1857 but was soon rebuilt – in fact in the same year. With his son – Carl Jacobsen joining in, the brewery extended further in the 1870s.

J.C Jacobsen and his son were constantly at loggerheads in terms of their philosophies. While J.C Jacobsen believed in science that increased functionality and productivity, the son was an ardent believer that even functionality needs to have an aesthetic edge. Following a bitter disagreement in 1882, Carl Jacobsen split from his father and set up an adjoining brewery. He called it Ny Carlsberg (New Carlsberg). The old one was subsequently called Gammel Carlsberg (Old Carlsberg).

Though side-by-side the two breweries operated independently. After the death of J.C Jacobsen Gammel Carlsberg was managed by the Carlsberg Foundation until 1902, when Carl Jacobsen under the flag of the foundation merged them into Carlsberg breweries.

Carlsberg breweries continued to grow and flourish. It has been the World’s 3^rd largest brewery. Carlsberg in Copenhagen continued its operations till 2008 after which it moved to Jutland. This is when the estate was redeveloped into an urban living space. The entire planning was done such that the old Carlsberg history with its 19th-century buildings found a new use in the present-day world. The architectural plan drawn for this urban development won the Best Master Plan award in 2009 at the World Architecture Festival.

Today, this old brewery still shares the story of J.C Jacobsen and Carl Jacobsen. Their legacy still lives on in the form of their buildings and homes. If anything, those have merged seamlessly with modern buildings and green spaces – all of which make the Carlsberg City district.

Where and what is Carlsberg City District?

Carlsberg City might have been the old brewery site outside Copenhagen when it was first established but now it is very much a part of the city. It is considered to be a new-age neighborhood that has residential and commercial complexes. The district is located between the famous Fredriksborg and Vesterbro areas and is well-connected by roads and metro.

The new living space has been planned on the lines of the famous Tuscan town called San Gimignano or the City of Towers. It has 10 active zones that have living and commercial spaces woven into it. The arching philosophy here is to keep alive the Carlsberg history and belief while making them relevant to the present generation.

To illustrate this with some examples – the old brew house of Ny Carlsberg has now been converted to a fine hotel while the lighthouse now hosts an artist’s home and studio. While the old has been repurposed, newer developments have sprung around it and have been designed such that the entire neighborhood of Carlsberg city looks cohesive.

The plan and architecture of Carlsberg Byen

Most of the heritage buildings in Carlsberg (especially Ny Carlsberg) adhered to the historicist style of architecture. I could see a lot of them inspired by the Italian Renaissance art favoring arched facades and red brickwork. The tall Carlsberg towers in particular reminded me of the medieval castles of Europe with their spired roofs and wooden doors. Some of the recent buildings emulate the red facades while the others favor glass exteriors.

My Carlsberg visit was aided by Peter – an architect who not only stays in Carlsberg city but also, works on the development of the new layout. Prior to starting the Carlsberg city walking tour, he set a context on how the new neighborhood was being developed. The main aim was to keep heritage relevant to the day-to-day life. At the same time, the new additions are created to further the legacy of Carlsberg.

I was quite impressed with some of these architectural features of the Copenhagen Carlsberg district –

• Every aspect of the development has to fulfill one of the four core values of the two founders of Carlsberg. These four pillars include – research and production that J.C Jacobsen favored and the art and culture part that Carl Jacobsen believed in. Peter explained this with some examples. “The new buildings in the district must have an aesthetic element that fits in with the classic Carlsberg architecture – a value of Carl Jacobsen. Similarly, vendors who want to set up business in this district must contribute to one of the four values – like the dance studio that further culture or the school that works towards research and development. That way Carlsberg’s legacy lives on even in the present neighborhood.”
• There are 10 zones in Carlsberg city district and each zone has a specific function. While one zone is about a green community, another one is a meeting zone. The commercial and residential spaces have been planned according to these themes.
• Green initiatives have been integrated into every part of the district. There are shared green spaces for better community living. The inner roads of the district allow only bikes. The underground cellars of the brewery have been converted into parking spaces.
• As mentioned earlier, the entire layout has been inspired by the “city of towers” – San Gimignano. Don’t however, look for those medieval towers. There are nine tall skyscrapers that have replaced them. In between these are several public squares linked by alleys similar to this town in Tuscany, Italy.

With this background, I found myself appreciating the various sights on my Copenhagen Carlsberg tour better. It was like a game – where I would start deducing the values of the building, shop, café or even the heritage structure I encountered. The explanation makes the entire Carlsberg city district tour more immersive and fun.

Map for the self-guided Copenhagen Carlsberg tour

I have created this map that you can open when you start your Carlsberg brewery tour. These include the key attractions that I have listed below as well as places to eat.

Places to see in Carlsberg district

Most of these Carlsberg attractions are structures that were a part of the old brewery and home of the Carlsberg family. They can be seen in plain sight and can be covered on your own. Of course, a guided tour always adds perspective but at the moment, there is just one conducted by the Carlsberg Museum (Home of Carlsberg). I will share more details on this later in the section.

I will share these Carlsberg sightseeing attractions in the order of my route. If you follow the same order, you will find them getting impressive.

The Hanging gardens

I began the Carlsberg historical tour at a point across the popular Københavns Bageri – well known for its Danish treats. Next to the stepped arcade or pergola kind of space, is the entrance to a green space that was historically J.C Jacobsen’s private garden. Right at its entrance (rather end) is a staggered brick wall that has concave facades. This is the Hanging Garden of Carlsberg.

The story behind this includes the Mineral water factory. There are the two white buildings that you will see when you stand in front of the Hanging Gardens. The building was the Mineral water tap factory that produced Carlsberg sodas. J.C Jacobsen was the first person to produce sodas or Danish sparkling water in the whole of Scandinavia and hence, set up a separate plant for it.

The product was so popular that the plant required some extension which almost ran into the private gardens of J.C Jacobsen. The architect in the 1960s – Svenn Eske Kristensen drew up this artistic façade with terrace roof gardens to ensure the end of the bottling plant. The design was such that the windows were on the sides and that ensured privacy of the adjoining green space. The rooms behind the windows were used as dorms for the scientists of Carlsberg.

The Mineral water plant is no longer functional. The Tap E building has become a 9000 square meter space called Dansehallerme – a World Dance studio and cultural venue. The other building adjoining the Hanging gardens is now a part of the University of Copenhagen.  The Hanging Gardens of Carlsberg Byen are now a listed historical landmark.

The Carlsberg Academy gardens (J.C Jacobsen Garden)

J.C Jacobsen Have or the gardens were landscaped by a family friend of the founder. This is the green space facing the Hanging Gardens. With the sight of people sunbathing by the pond, kids playing ball and families having a picnic, I would have mistaken this as a public garden that was built recently.

However, this was built in the 1800s and was joined to the private residence of J. C Jacobsen. The space has over 77 varieties of plants that were gathered from across the world by a landscape artist – a friend of J.C Jacobsen. The soil initially used in the garden came from the cellars dug up for the Carlsberg brewery.

Fascinating, right? – to see such green initiatives and reuse from the past. It makes even more sense to keep this Carlsberg philosophy alive.

J.C Jacobsen’s home

At the far end of this garden, I saw a glimpse of the Italian villa that once was the residence of J.C Jacobsen. At the time of my Carlsberg city tour, there was some renovation work taking place and hence it was not open to visit. The inspiring founder who dedicated his life to science donated it to the Carlsberg Foundation with the aim to reward any man or woman who made some extraordinary contributions in research. The house is now a part of the Carlsberg Academy.

Carlsberg stables

It’s time for an interesting story of Carlsberg Brewery. Back when Carlsberg beer was distributed through the city using barrels that had taps and were drawn by horses. The barrels would be filled at the Carlsberg beer factory and the horses would set off on various routes through Copenhagen and nearby towns. The beer was by pint where the buyer would directly fill his bottle from the barrel. This was a daily routine.

The Carlsberg beer factory had a massive stable to house their 200 horses for this activity. These stables can be seen as you pass through the Carlsberg Academy gardens and exit to go towards the other landmarks of Carlsberg City district. They are a part of the “Home of Carlsberg” museum which still has four gorgeous draught horses. I was lucky to see two Shetland ponies swishing their tails in these historic stables. And of course, I met them when I visited the museum.

Old Brewery house of Ny Carlsberg

The next stop is one of the main squares in the Ny Carlsberg Brewery (Carl Jacobsen Brewery) section of the district. En route, you will see the newer buildings and one of the nine towers of the inspired San Gimignano layout. The large square where you finally land has five buildings laid out in a U shape. If you are facing them, the one on the right with the glass façade is fairly new, while the other four are the protected structures built by Carl Jacobsen. 

The four red brick buildings were a part of Carl Jacobsen’s first brewery house that he set up when he separated his business from his father. The buildings were designed such that they included malt storage, a power center and a brewhouse. One part of the building was used as residences for his employees while in front of the building was a large dining hall for them. Today, all of them have been creatively converted –

• The main brew house built in the 1880s is now a classy boutique hotel with 155 rooms – Hotel Ottilia. The circular windows of the hotel were once barrel storage. It also includes the building with the tower. The cellar of that building (built later in the 1960s) used to store 6 million liters of beer at one point but now has been creatively converted to suit the hotel’s needs. The circular glass windows that you see were once barrel stations.
• The Malt magazine owing to its dank interiors was converted to an archive for books and now, is an elegant spa.
• The residences and the machine rooms include offices and shops like the designer furniture brand – PP Møbler
• The dining hall is now the famous Gasoline burger outlet.

You can walk through the Hotel with permission and check out the remnants of Carl Jacobsen’s brewery. Also, keep an eye out on the façade, especially at the back where you have busts of prominent personalities of Carlsberg Brewery as well as scientists such as Louis Pasteur.

New Carlsberg Brewhouse

Carl Jacobsen soon felt the need for a bigger brewhouse. In 1901, he shut the older one and shifted to another building that was perpendicular to the square. You can easily recognize it with the huge sculpture of Thor on its roof. This sculpture was made by famous Danish artist  – C.J. Bonnesen.

The first glimpse of this sculpture and façade of the new Carlsberg Brewhouse was enough for me to guess that this building was inspired by Italian architecture. The arched façade reminded me of some of the buildings in Venice. Well, I was close. The design was inspired by Palazzo Bevilacqua of Verona (quite close to Venice).

Carlsberg Elephant Gate and Tower – one of the key Carlsberg sightseeing attractions.

I kept getting distracted by the gigantic Carlsberg elephants that were right next to the new brewhouse. This elephant gate is one of the most popular heritage buildings in Carlsberg. It is technically the entrance to the Carlsberg city district from Valby.

Carl Jacobsen spent a fair bit of his youth traveling around Europe. This explains why his creations and collections were inspired by Italian art. These elephants too were an inspiration from the Bernini obelisk in Rome. He worked with Vilhelm Dahlerup (the same architect who created the adjoining new brewhouse) to make this grand entrance.

This iconic structure is a classic historicist style of Carlsberg architecture that I had mentioned before. There are four elephants that you can see carrying a tower on their back. The tower was first used as a water tower and later changed to hop storage. The elephants are believed to symbolize Carl and Ottilia Jacobsen’s surviving children. They had eight kids of which four survived. The ones who died were commemorated as 4 bells in a chapel.

The elephants also, symbolize faithfulness and strength – which were two of the important principles of Carl Jacobsen. Walk to the sides and you will see Swastikas carved onto the elephants. The Carlsberg swastika symbolizes the sun and happiness. Also, don’t miss the eyes of the elephants that are made to look like that of humans.

This elephant gate and tower has been my favorite and is one attraction that you must not miss when you visit Carlsberg district.

Double gates or the Carlsberg Diplyon

Right across the Elephant gate in Carlsberg City Copenhagen is another entrance – with two arches. This is the double gate or the Carlsberg Diplyon. The arched portal is the entrance to the Ny Carlsberg brewery from the Vesterbro side of Copenhagen.

This gate was also, designed by Vilhelm Dahlerup and includes a malt tower as well as a clock. There is a very pretty band or frieze above the arch which has nine portraits of prominent people of Carlsberg. This is another one of my favorite Carlsberg city district attractions.

The winding chimney of Carlsberg brewery

Carl Jacobsen believed that even the most functional structures can be made beautifully. An example of this is the Winding chimney which is right behind the Brewhouse. Another one was inspired by his Europe travel and was designed based on Notre Dame of Paris. Built in the early 1900s, this is 56m high and has 8 gargoyles around it.

Honestly, if I had just seen it without knowing its significance, I would have just put it down as a beautiful Carlsberg tower. Never would I have guessed it was a chimney. It is a protected structure in the open campus of a buzzing school.

The lighthouse or the limestone tower

Also called the Chalk Tower, the gorgeous lighthouse is an eye-catcher. It is one of the buildings built by J.C Jacobsen with the help of the architect – P.C Bønecke in 1883. In those days, Valby Hill (the place where the first Carlsberg brewery was built) was always dark. The tower with its glass electric lantern was the main source of illumination on this hill.

The lighthouse has the words – Work and frugality etched onto its façade. These were two guiding principles of J.C Jacobsen. I loved the stained glass lantern on the top and the large wooden door – the latter making me feel as if I were ready to enter one of those medieval European castles.

The tower has an attached accommodation – initially used by the lighthouse concierge. The protected monument is now used by an artist as his studio and apartment.

Adjacent to the lighthouse, is a building called the Machine Central. This used to be the powerhouse of the whole Carlsberg brewery. They say that the electricity produced here was enough to light up Copenhagen.

Star gate of Gammel Carlsberg

Right next to the lighthouse, is the entrance to Gammel Carlsberg or the old Carlsberg brewery. The gate was made in the same year as the lighthouse and has a 12-point star. This is the registered trademark of Carlsberg.

You will notice 4 different years inscribed onto the gate. These pertain to specific events in the history of Gammel Carlsberg.

• 1847 – the year of the first brew
• 1867 – when the old brewery caught fire
• 1880 – when the old brewery expanded
• 1883 – when the gate was built.        

Carlsberg Laboratory

By now, you would realize that you have walked around the block and almost made it back to the Ny Carlsberg brewery square. Continue further towards a circle and you will find the Carlsberg laboratory. This is distinctive with the statue of J.C Jacobsen right in the front. It was set up by him to further research in biochemistry related to brewing.

However, the building was completed only in 1893, after the death of J.C Jacobsen. It is still a research center belonging to the Carlsberg Foundation.

Home of Carlsberg (The museum)

I ended my walk with a very lively and interactive tour of the old Carlsberg brewery. The museum is called the Home of Carlsberg and is set in the original brewery of Valby Hill. There are three types of tours that you can buy tickets for –

1. The Exhibition hall

This is an interactive Carlsberg brewery tour that takes you through the history of the brand and family of Carlsberg and how beer is made. You are greeted with a small glass of beer and introduced to the concept of the museum. Then you follow the signs and walk around the various rooms – playing games along the way and making memories that you can download later at home.

I found the games section educative – for you learn what goes into the beer, how the Carlsberg ingredients can be controlled to make various types of beer, designing labels etc. You even learn about their popular brands like Carlsberg Strong and what made them famous.

There is also, a section that has the largest collection of unopened beer bottles in the world. As a marketing and branding person, I found this interesting as it displays the oldest branding to the latest labels. Fascinating to see the evolution.

The tour ends with a free glass of beer (alcoholic or non – your choice) that you can get at the Carlsberg bar. The tour of this section costs 210 DKK (€ 28) per adult. This part of the Home of Carlsberg is included in the Copenhagen card – just make sure though, that you prebook your slot beforehand.

2) Beer tasting session

This is down in the cellars – where you learn how to appreciate beer. The foam, the color and the taste – it was all new to me (am not a beer person!) and thus, this was quite an informative session. The Home of Carlsberg tickets for this cost 140 DKK (€ 19) per adult. No kids are allowed and yes, you have to be 18 plus. This is also, not a part of the Copenhagen card offerings and hence, has to be booked separately.

3) Carlsberg historical tour

Remember, I mentioned a guided tour of Carlsberg City district. Well, this is it. You can avail the same for DKK 120 (€ 16) per person. You can book the same online through their website. Again, this is not a Home of Carlsberg Copenhagen Card offering. It has to be added on.

Besides these ticket tours, you can walk around and note some more of the historical buildings –

• The brewery building or the exhibition hall was the first brewery and was later converted to Carlsberg glyptotek or museum with all of Carl Jacobsen’s art collection. Now, this has been moved to Copenhagen city  – though you can still see some of his art sculptures and busts around the building.
• Carl and Ottilia’s home – this is right next to the exhibition hall
• Carlsberg stables – you can meet and greet the horses. It also, has the old barrel vehicles and carriages that were used to distribute Carlsberg beer.
• The courtyard – full of fun games and events.
• Carlsberg brand store – This is a great place to shop for Carlsberg souvenirs and special beers. I bought a few fridge magnets to add to my collection.

The Home of Carlsberg opening hours are at 10 am on most days. They close early at 6 pm in winters while in summers, they are open till 8 pm.

Well, that completes my list of highlights on what to see in the Carlsberg city district.

Common FAQs about the Carlsberg City District

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Ami

Popularly referred to as a Restless Ball of Energy. My Mom refuses to entertain my complaints about my equally restless daughter & assures my husband that I was born with a travel bug.

I am a Post-Graduate in Marketing by qualification and a travel blogger by passion. Besides travel, I enjoy photography and if you don’t find me at my desk, I would be out playing badminton or swimming or just running. I believe in planning for every long weekend through the year. And when I cannot travel physically, I travel virtually through this travel blog. My travel stories have also, got published on various websites and magazines including BBC Travel, Lonely Planet India and Jetwings. I have recently published my first book – When Places Come Alive – a collection of stories that are based on legends, landscapes, art and culture of a place which is available in both ebook and paperback format.

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