Vartegn
To vartegn har fulgt mig i de mange år, jeg har boet
her på Vesterbro, Valby Gassilo og Carlsbergs ikoniske logo på toppen af deres
gamle maltsilo. Jeg var ikke så opmærksom på dem i tiden før byfornyelsen i
1996, hvor jeg kun havde ét lille vindue i lejligheden, som vendte mod vest.
Men efter byfornyelsen, hvor jeg fik flere og store vinduer samt en fransk
altan, som alle var vestvendte, blev de to vartegn for alvor en del af mit
udsyn. Det er med de to vartegn, som jeg tidligere beskrev i blogindlægget ”Skydebanemuren”
(14. april 2017), jeg ser dem og ser dem ikke – de er hverdag.Valby Gassilo
Siloen skulle ikke sprænges i stumper og stykker, men
derimod pænt “lægges ned” i form af en såkaldt kontrolleret sprængning, så vi
cyklede ud til Valbyparken og overværede “kæmpens” fald. Det var et vemodigt
farvel til den store silo og jeg tager ind imellem stadig mig selv i at kigge
efter den, når jeg går gennem lejligheden og kigger ud mod horisonten.
Og nu fortæller Denis mig så, at mit andet vartegn
også forsvinder, for Carlsberg siloerne, som er i alt 88 meter høje og dels
rummer de gamle maltsiloer samt øverst oppe Carlsbergs Hovedkontor, står nu for
nedrivning og dermed er det slut med Carlsbergs lysende logo øverst på gavlen
af den høje bygning. Hver dag ser jeg fra vores vinduer og henover Vestebros
tage, hvordan lysskiltet tændes og slukkes. Jeg har ikke styr på de eksakte
tidspunkter, men jeg ved at skiltet er slukket en del af nattetimerne og igen er
tændt, når vi står op. Især i de mørke vintermåneder er det som en lille og
konstant morgenhilsen, at se skiltet lyse henover tagene.
Men nu er Carlsbergs
produktion flyttet til Jylland, den store grund solgt og nye bygninger skyder
op. Tilbage er kun at håbe, at Carlsberg logoet igen vil blive sat op på et af
de nye højhuse, som nu bliver bygget.
Og sådan er byen i konstant forandring og udvikling.
Så jeg må stedet kigge mod øst, hvor der endnu er nogle vartegn at skue –
tårnene på Christiansborg og Københavns Rådhus, samt flere af Tivolis
forlystelser og, ikke mindst, Tivolis fyrværkeri.
Landmarks
Two landmarks have followed me
for the many years I've lived here on Vesterbro, the Valby Gasometer and
Carlsberg's iconic logo on top of their old malt silo. I was not that aware of
them in the time before the urban renewal in 1996, when I only had one tiny
window facing west in my flat. But after our urban renewal, where I got more
and larger windows and a French balcony, all of which faced west, the two
landmarks really became a part of my view. It is with the two landmarks, which
I previously described in my blog, “The Shooting Range Wall” (April 14, 2017),
I see them and do not see them - they are everyday.
Valby Gasometer
This is, unfortunately, no
longer the case. For the gasometer disappeared already in 2012, after having
stored gas for consumers in Copenhagen and Frederiksberg for years. The
gasometer was taken out of service in 2007, after which it stood empty until
November 4, 2012. That day, the large gasometer was to be demolished. Every day
it had, as I said, been part of my view from the apartment and I therefore felt
it like a bit of a personal attack, that they would blow it up, so therefore
Denis and I decided to go out and say a proper goodbye to it.
The gasometer was not to be
blown up into small bits and pieces, but on the other hand nicely
"toppled" in the form of a so-called controlled blast, therefore we cycled
out to the Valby park and watched the "giant's" fall. It was a
melancholy goodbye to the big gasometer and I still sometimes find myself
looking for it, when I walk through the apartment and look out towards the
horizon.
Carlsberg's iconic logo
And now Denis tells me, that my
other landmark will also disappear, for the Carlsberg silos, which is a total
of 88 meters high and contains the old disused malt silos, as well as
Carlsberg's head office on the top floors, now faces demolition and therefore
ends Carlsberg's illuminated logo on the gable at the top of the tall building.
Every day I see from our windows and across Vesterbros rooftops how the light
sign is switched on and off. I have no record over the exact times, but I know,
that the sign is off part of the night hours, and is always switched on when we
get up again. Especially in the dark winter months, it is like a small and
constant morning greeting to see the sign bright over the roofs. But now the
Carlsberg's production has been moved to Jutland, the large site sold and new
buildings are shooting up. Now I can only hope, that the Carlsberg logo will be
reestablished on one of the new high-rises being built.
And in
this way the city is in constant change and development. So instead I have to
look to the east, where there are still some landmarks to see - the towers of
Christiansborg and the Copenhagen City Hall, as well as several of Tivoli's
attractions and, not least, Tivoli’s fireworks.
