Elephant Gate and Tower, Carlsberg, Art Nouveau monument in Carlsberg district, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Elephant Gate and Tower is an Art Nouveau monument featuring four granite elephants standing back-to-back beneath a red brick tower crowned with a copper-clad onion dome. The structure serves as a gateway entrance to the former brewery grounds and stands out as a distinctive architectural landmark.
Built in 1901 as part of the Ny Carlsberg Brewhouse complex, the tower originally functioned as a water storage and herb silo for beer production. Its creation reflected the brewery's growing scale and the era's approach to combining industrial needs with artistic design.
The four elephant sculptures carry initials of Carl Jacobsen's children, weaving personal family history into the industrial complex's public face. This detail shows how private memories became part of the working landscape that visitors see today.
The monument is accessible from outside and best viewed from the Valby side entrance of the complex. Daylight hours offer the best conditions to appreciate the copper dome and stone carvings in full detail.
Sculptor Hans Peder Pedersen-Dan created the elephants based on Bernini's work seen in Rome, bringing international artistic influences into Danish industrial design. This connection to European art history adds an unexpected layer to what appears as a functional brewery entrance.
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