Unique in its size, characterized by its location, and organized with its magnificent landscaping – J.C. Jacobsen’s garden by the Carlsberg Academy is impressive. The garden, which was planned and sketched by the Brewer himself was originally created for private use for him and his family; since then for the residents of the honorary residence, and today, it is a public open space. The garden is home to a number of rare and unusual trees and plants and has, during the summer of 2017, undergone renovation with the Carlsberg Foundation as new owner.
During the years 1851-1867, Brewer J.C. Jacobsen laid out his garden, situated by the Carlsberg Academy in Valby. The garden has been open to the public since 2008 and has, over the years, grown out of its botanical starting point.
During the summer of 2017, the garden was renovated with the purpose of taking it back to its original state. The Carlsberg Foundation has, as new owner of the garden, been in charge of the renovation, which has been led by architect “Kristine Jensens Tegnestue”.
The Brewer travelled a lot in Europe and was thereby inspired by the landscape gardening trends of his time. He thus brought many rare plants and trees back from his travels, which have been planted in the garden next to the abundance of seeds and plants, which were ordered from all over Europe.
Recreating botanical identity
The renovation has meant recreating the botanical identity of the garden, alongside preserving all trees worthy of preservation. Furthermore, the three plantings, “Stenhøjen”, “Stenbedet”, and “Spejlbassinet” will be reconstructed from the original drawings by J.C. Jacobsen.
The garden is outlined to the west by the Carlsberg Academy, which was erected in 1854, and to the east by the building “De Hængende Haver”, which was erected in 1968. The garden was listed for preservation in 2009.
The garden was not originally worked out to be a systematic botanical collection, but more of an arboretum. Today, it is more in the nature of an unsystematic arboretum, which contains a variation of solitary trees, conifer- and deciduous trees, spread out on the four garden spaces that are preserved.
From private garden to public space
Originally, J.C. Jacobsen’s garden by the Carlsberg Academy was created for private use, and since then for the residents of the Honorary Residence, among others, the physicist Niels Bohr, who lived in the Honorary Residence from 1932, and until his death in 1962. The Brewer purchased 116 plants from all over the world, many of which are now recreated. In extension of the renovation, the garden has been turned into a public open space with a new noise shield to the south, and new accessibility to the north. Furthermore, to the north, a stormwater tank has been established, as well as the path systems have been updated.
The Brewers “park”
J.C. Jacobsen had an obvious special affection for botany. For instance, he laid out the garden, which he, with a modern expression, called his “park”, before building the house. The reason behind turning the process upside down and planning the garden before the house was, that the huge amount of soil, which was left over from the excavation of the deep storage cellars of the house had to be placed somewhere on the property.
Due to the Brewers ability to make estimates and plan ahead, he had already prior to the decision of building the house made plans to use the excess soil as a bastion in the middle of the property. Subsequently, the soil was moved to the place where the main building was to be erected, and this soil solved the potential problems related to building on a slope by forming a plateau. Today, it is difficult to picture the original topography of the property, but it was relatively long and narrow, gently sloping from the west to the east.
The restoration in 2017 has meant recreating the botanical identity of the garden, and, at the same time preserving all trees worthy of preservation. The Carlsberg Foundation has, as new owner, been in charge of the renovation, which has been led by architect “Kristine Jensens Tegnestue”.
Inspired by the famous landscape gardens of his time
Sadly, the original garden plan by Rudolph Rothe has gone lost, but later sketched measurements show the main characteristics of the garden, the way it looked at its establishment in 1847-48.
The staged landscape that graces the garden today is not least due to J.C. Jacobsen’s passionate interest in landscape gardening and the many different impressions he got on his journeys, where he visited the famous gardens of his time. The Brewer travelled extensively in Europe and thereby got inspired by the contemporary landscape gardening trends. He thus brought many rare plants and trees back with him, which were planted in the garden next to the abundance of seeds and plants, which were ordered from all over Europe.
But J.C. Jacobsen’s highly modern garden was not exclusively a result of the Brewer’s interest in landscape gardening, but also his ability to decide, which counsellors he should use for his different ventures. For the garden, Rudolph Rothe (1802-1877), landscape architect, and a friend of the family showed to be the perfect counsellor. The dynamics between buildings and landscape, which made Carlsberg a time typical unity, turned into a dialogue between the Brewer and Rothe, although the direction had been pointed out by the Brewer already.
In the Carlsberg Archive several descriptions and sketches over the garden, drawn by the Brewer himself exist, all demonstrating his great interest in botany and the special places and areas, which were cultivated “con amore”.
The garden was re-opened on J.C. Jacobsen’s birthday, September 2, 2017, as a part of the Golden Days Festival, Copenhagen 850 years.
Architectural models of the, now renovated, garden.