The Dipylon, or the Double Gate (Danish: Dobbeltporten), is a

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

structure which spans Ny Carlsberg Vej in the Carlsberg area of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

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. Part of the now decommissioned Carlsberg Brewery site, it combines a double-arched gateway, from which it takes its name, with a

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

. The name which simply means "double gate" in Greek, refers to a gateway in the north-west of ancient

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

History

Vilhelm Dahlerup Jens Vilhelm Dahlerup (4 August 1836 – 24 January 1907) was a Danish architect who specialized in the Historicist style. One of the most productive and noted Danish architects of the 19th century, he is behind many of the most known buildings ...

, the Dipylon structure was built in 1892, at a time when the Ny Carlsberg complex was still under redevelopment and far from finished. The gateway of the lower part marked the Vesterbro-side entrance to the Ny Carlsberg complex, complementing the Elephant Gate to the west which afforded access to the brewery from the Valby side. Above the gateway, the building originally contained two malting floors. Through two valves, one in each arch, malt mash could be poured into waiting wagons.

Architecture and artwork

The Dipylon building is built in red brick in the ornate Historicist style which is typical both of the Carlsberg area in general and especially of Vilhelm Dahlerup's work. The arches have granite rustication. Above them there is a diagonal pattern in glazed and red tiles. On the front (Vesterbro) side of the building, an integrated sign above the arches simply reads "Ny Carlsberg". Similarly placed on the rear (courtyard) side of the structure, there is a plate which is inscribed with a quotation from

J.C. Jacobsen Jacob Christian Jacobsen (2 September 1811 – 30 April 1887), mostly known as J. C. Jacobsen, was a Denmark, Danish industrialist and philanthropist best known for founding the brewery Carlsberg Group, Carlsberg. Biography He had no formal acad ...

's will which was later adopted by

Carl Jacobsen Carl Christian Hillman Jacobsen (2 March 1842 – 11 January 1914) was a Danish brewer, art collector and philanthropist. Though often preoccupied with his cultural interests, Jacobsen was a shrewd and visionary businessman and initiated the tra ...

as a motto: On the rear side of the gate building, a frieze consisting of nine tile paintings depicts various key figures in the construction and operation of brewery. In the centre stands Carl Jacobsen, flanked by his wife, Ottilia, and his son Alf who was the chosen heir but died in 1890 shortly before the building was completed. The other figures are Carl’s closest collaborators in building the brewery, Vilhelm Dahlerup and master builder S. P. Beckmann, and, representing the brewery’s employees, Professor Christian Grønlund, office manager R. Hesberg, chief inspector V. Henningsen, and an ordinary brewery worker. On the upper part of the building is a double-faced clock created by leading Danish clockmaker Julius Bertram Larsen. Its roof-top bell is flanked by the ''Bell strikers'', a group statue by Stephan Sinding.

References

External links

Official website
the Carlsberg area {{Vesterbro/Kongens Enghave Vilhelm Dahlerup buildings Gates in Copenhagen Arches and vaults in Denmark Clock towers in Copenhagen Industrial buildings completed in 1892 Vesterbro, Copenhagen

History

Architecture and artwork

See also

References

External links