Denmark's the spotto celebrate Andersen - The Boston Globe Denmark's the spotto celebrate Andersen Email | Print | Text size – + By William A. Davis Globe Correspondent / April 17, 2005 COPENHAGEN -- In his native Denmark, Hans Christian Andersen is not just the author of beloved fairy tales like ''The Little Mermaid" and ''The Ugly Duckling," but is considered a world-class literary figure and a national icon. This year marks the 200th anniversary of Andersen's birth and Denmark is going all out to celebrate the extraordinary life and work of its most famous son, a complex and multitalented man whom Danes believe is not fully appreciated by the rest of the world. Nearly $40 million will be spent on the nationwide celebration, officially called HCA2005, which will continue into December. Events include special exhibitions, plays based on incidents in Andersen's life, fairy-tale-themed ballets, and an opera, ''The Secret Arias," about his unrequited love for singer Jenny Lind (''The Swedish Nightingale") composed by Elvis Costello, of all people.

Also, a musical based on ''The Little Mermaid" will be presented on a floating stage in Copenhagen Harbor with a cast of more than 600 and Andersen's original sad but uplifting ending (she loses the handsome prince but gains a human soul), not the Disney cartoon's sappy happy one. The Andersen year began April 2, his birthday, with a gala event in the city's National Stadium of Denmark. The Danish royal family was on hand along with a host of international celebrities -- among them singers Harry Belafonte and Suzanne Vega, actors Matt Dillon and Kenneth Branagh, and writer Isabel Allende -- who have been namedHans Christian Andersen ambassadors by the HCA2005 Foundation. The ambassadors are influential people of all sorts who have agreed to work in their home countries this year to help promote literacy programs that use Anderson's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 150 languages, as textbooks. Andersen's life was as extraordinary and his personality as original as his writing. He was born into dire poverty in the town of Odense on the island of Funen, son of an illiterate and alcoholic washerwoman and an impoverished shoemaker.

When he died in 1875, he was one the most famous men in Europe, an intimate of kings and friend of many notable writers and intellectuals. He was also a bundle of contradictions. Awkward and self-conscious (he was tall with huge hands and feet), he compulsively sought the limelight. A hopeless romantic, he was attracted to both women and men but was a lifelong and reputedly celibate bachelor. A world traveler, he remained a Danish country boy at heart. Andersen wrote novels, plays, travel books, and memoirs, most now largely forgotten outside Denmark. His enduring fame rests on the fact that he was the first writer to take the ancient form of the oral folk tale and transformed it into a wonderful new kind of fiction: the modern fairy tale. Andersen titled his autobiography ''The Fairy Tale of My Life," and many of his tales are autobiographical. He saw himself as ''The Ugly Duckling" who turned into a beautiful swan, for instance, and ''The Steadfast Tin Soldier" who stayed faithful to his beloved even after she spurned him.

''The Greatest Fairy Tale" is the appropriate name of a big exhibition on Andersen's life and achievements created especially for HCA2005 in the gardens of Copenhagen's Rosenborg Castle. The exhibition presents Andersen's life as a journey, with interactive stations at each stage and a narrator, speaking in Andersen's own words, providing the link between them. Visitors follow Andersen from his grim childhood through his courageous decision at the age of 14 to leave home and seek his fortune in Copenhagen (impressed by the eccentric, but clearly gifted youth, a wealthy man financed his education), and finally to great fame. After December, the exhibition goes on an international tour that the HCA2005 Foundation hopes will create new interest in Andersen. Andersen became a wealthy man but was afraid of being tied down by property -- one of his many neuroses -- and never owned a house or apartment. He lived in rented rooms or flats around the city center, most still standing and marked by a plaque. Copenhagen was not bombed during World War II and the heart of the city looks much as it did in Andersen's day. Many landmarks, such as the City Hall building on the main square and the famous Tivoli Gardens amusement park are essentially unchanged.

Tivoli will celebrate HCA2005 with ''A Tivoli Fairy Tale," a show of music, fireworks, light effects, and giant puppets. It will be on view every evening, except Fridays, mid-May through September. A good way to get a feeling for 19th-century Copenhagen and the role Andersen played in it is to take a walking tour with the best possible guide -- the man himself. Richard Karpen is an American who was born in the Bronx but has lived in Denmark for more than 20 years. He operates Copenhagen Walks, an English-language guide service, and offers what he calls ''Private Tours with Hans Christian Andersen." Dressed in Andersen's trademark long, black overcoat and silk top hat, Karpen takes visitors on a walk through the author's haunts, which include many of the main sites of the city, all the while telling Andersen anecdotes and quoting from his stories, letters, and diaries. ''He wasn't childlike, but he certainly understood children," Karpen says, ''and he was the first writer to give children their own voice." The official closing event of HCA2005 will be a Dec. 6 ceremony in Odense.

The museum attached to Anderson's birthplace has the world's largest collection of his artifacts, manuscripts, books, letters, diaries, and memorabilia. It also has an outdoor theater where a troupe of actors, most of them children, present versions of the fairy tales several times a day. While preparing an exhibition for HCA2005, the museum staff discovered Andersen's change purse, which had been in the collection for 50 years but never opened. ''When we opened it, we found inside a beautiful paper cutout of a swan," says Ejnar Asgaard, museum curator. ''So, he's still revealing his secrets to us." William Davis is a freelance writer in Cambridge. © Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company. Odense travel guide - Wikitravel Understand[ edit ] A picturesque street in Odense's Old-Quarter. Odense is roughly in the centre of Funen , which lies between the larger Zealand island & the Jutland peninsula. The first recorded reference to the city dates back to 988 AD in a letter from the German Kaiser Otto III. Some recent archaeological findings have indicated that a settlement has in fact been around since the Viking period.

At that time, however, Odense was just the small centre of the Odin cult. In 1100, the first monastery, St. Knud's was established by English Benedictine monks. Up until the middle of the 17th century, Odense enjoyed the position as a main trading-centre for the people from the surrounding areas. Local produce & livestock were exported from the city. However, a war with Sweden in the 1600s weakened the city's economy. This economic downturn continued until 1803 when a canal linking Odense & the Baltic Sea was opened. This swiftly changed Odense into a port city & over the next 100 years Odense quickly developed into the modern industrial city which it is today. Currently Odense has a population of 185,871 people, thus making it Denmark's 3rd largest city. Odense is also the birthplace of the world famous fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen & the city proudly displays statues, parades & monuments in his memory. Andersen was born on 2 April 1805, in a tiny house on Munkemøllestræde, quite close to the cathedral.

During his lifetime, Andersen created many famous fairy-tales which today are internationally famous. For example 'The Little Mermaid', 'The Ugly Duckling' & 'The Snow Queen'. By plane[ edit ] Odense Airport ( IATA : ODE, ICAO : ICOD) [2] , no longer engages in domestic flights and international services has been much reduced since the construction of the Great Belt Bridge, However the small local carrier AirBorne [3] operates directs flights to several Italian cities during the summer, including Parma , Firenze and Trieste . Regular schedules services are from the country's other major airports, which thanks to Odense central location are not far way: Copenhagen/Kastrup Airport take the train from the airport directly to Odense via Copenhagen City. This trip can take between 105 and 120 minutes. (Note: On trains leaving from Copenhagen Airport it is important that you clip your train ticket prior to boarding). Billund Airport, take the local bus to either Kolding or Vejle & then get a train from there to Odense. Trains depart roughly every 30 minutes during the day & every two hours after 1am. The total trip is roughly 90 minutes.

By train[ edit ] DSB provides rail-links between Odense & many of Denmark's major towns & cities. The trains are of exceptional quality, offer very comfortable seating & have food + drinks served en-route. During peak times it might be advisable to book a seat. This is generally not required very early in the morning or late at night. Trains are quite regular & arrive generally on time. Ticket checks take place on every journey, thus it is vital that you are in possession of a valid ticket at all times. Smoking is not permitted anywhere on the train. Odense is... Roughly between 90 minutes & 2 hours from Copenhagen City. Trains depart 2-3 times an hour. (Average cost: 220dkk) Around 105 minutes from Aarhus . Between 80 and 110 minutes from Esbjerg in southern Jutland. About 45 minutes from Svendborg in the south of Funen Between 4 and 5 hours from Hamburg in Germany . For further details on train schedules, destinations & other services visit, [4] .

By car[ edit ] Odense is situated in the centre of the island Funen (da.Fyn), and although not technically correct, many Danes consider it to be the centre of Denmark. The main highway between east ( Zealand ) and west ( Jutland ) Denmark, the E20, runs trough the southern suburbs of the city. If you are driving from Germany, this highway branches of the highway from Germany (E45) right after the Kolding Ø exit. It is important to note that there is a toll for crossing the Great-Belt Bridge from Zealand to Funen, the cost is 235 DKK one-way. By bus[ edit ] The cream coloured buses from FynBus [5] travel to Odense from locations all over the island of Funen, Fredericia in Jutland , and Nykøbing on the island of Falster . Regional buses arrive at & depart from the regional bus hub which can be found behind Odense Train Station on the north side of the railway. These are not to be confused with the local buses which depart from within the train station terminal on the south side of the railway.

The Intra-city buses can be recognized from the regional buses by the length of the line number. Two-digit number lines are intra-city while 3-digit numbers are regional and inter-city. By yacht[ edit ] Odense City has been made accessible to yachts by the construction of a 7 km long canal from Odense Fjord to the old harbour. There are several marinas, however it is recommended that you make sure they have visitor berths before you arrive. You can also dock at marinas in Svendborg , Faaborg or Kerteminde . Then a connecting train or bus would link you to Odense. By foot[ edit ] Most of Odense's attractions, bars, restaurants & shopping areas are very easily accessibly on foot. All of the city's main hotels & hostels are located within the city centre or train station areas. As a general rule all of the major attractions in the centre are between 5 & 10 minutes of each other. A major exception to this is 'The Funen Village' (Den Fynske Landsby), which is about a 45 minute walk along the river.

Similarly the zoo is on the same route & is roughly 30 minutes from the city centre. Both of these attractions are sign-posted all the way along the river. By taxi[ edit ] Taxis are relatively abundant throughout the city, but they are quite pricey when compared to local buses. Areas which usually have a large amount of taxis waiting to pick up customers include, the taxi pick-up point at the trainstation, outside the Rosengård centre & at Fisketorvet. On a Friday or Saturday night taxis can be found all over the city. You can hail a taxi on the street, or ask in a bar/restaurant for them to get one sent to come pick you up. It should be noted that taxis do cost more at night time. By boat[ edit ] Odense Riverboat, from the town to The Funen Village. For those interested in a more relaxed break, a river boat (Odense Åfart) can be taken from the bridge in Munke Mose Park (Nyvestergade) to the Zoo & to the forest next to 'The Funen Village'.

The journey, which takes around 30 minutes, is a very relaxing way of seeing Odense river, the Danish countryside & to just relax on a summers day. Sometimes live jazz bands occasionally play on-board during the summer months. Row-Boats & Paddle-Boats can also be rented at the same location. By bus[ edit ] The buses from Odense Bytrafik [6] are available all over Odense, and fairly frequent. All city buses cost 18 DKK for trips in the city, or 20 DKK for trips in the suburbs as well as trips between the city and the suburbs. A map of available bus lines can be found here [7] . The the Funen village take city bus 21 or 22 or regional bus lines 110 or 111, throughout most of the day these lines combined makes for departures every 10 minutes from the city centre. For Odense Zoo take bus 110/111 from the train station to the Skt. Knuds Gymnasium stop and walk from there, these buses depart around every 30 minutes and cost 20 kroner.

By train[ edit ] The regional train from Odense to Svendborg has a few stops in the Odense area. For example there is a stop at the picturesque Fruens Bøge area which is relatively near to The Funen Village. See[ edit ][ add listing ] Skt Knud Church Brandts Klædefabrik, Brandts Torv 1, ☎ +45 65 20 70 00, [8] . Tu-Su 10AM-5PM except Th noon-9PM. The art & cultural centre of Odense. Contains two museums; The Danish Museum of Media which focuses on all types of media and their history and the museum of photographic arts museum specializing in photography, there is also a gallery with changing exhibitions in its four large halls. And also specialist shops, a music library, a specialist cinema, bars & a post office. edit Carl Nielsen Museum, Claus Bergs Gade 11, ☎ +45 65 51 46 01, [9] .

A museum which honours the life of the classical music composer, Carl Nielsen, who was born just outside of Odense and is primarily known in Scandinavia and the UK for his 6 symphonies. Carl Nielsen is the portrait featured on the front side of the Danish hundred-kroner note. edit Danish Railway Museum, Dannebrogsgade 24, ☎ +45 66 13 66 30 ( jbmuseum@dsb.dk , fax: +45 66 19 02 20), [10] . Daily 10-16 (Closed 1 January, 24, 25 and 31 December.). A museum dedicated to the Danish railways. Contains dozens of old trains, carriages & rail road memorabilia over 10.000m2. There is also a large model train landscape and a ride-on miniature railway and playground for the children. On public holidays and during the schools summer vacation the museum also arranges train rides in old vintage steam trains to various destinations on Funen - call ahead for dates and reservations.

Admission: Children 5-13 30 DKK , Adults DKK 60, Families 150 DKK 120 (2 adults and 3 children). edit Egeskov Castle, Egeskov Gade 3, Kværndrup, ☎ +45 62 27 10 16, [11] . Daily 10AM-5PM (or 8PM in June/August). One of Europe's best preserved are the Renaissance water castles, dating back from 1554, about 30 km south. The current owner, Count Ahlefeldt, has added numerous features, including a maze, walk-among- the treetops and a veteran auto museum, toy museum, kitchen garden, and more, all in a scenic park. 175 DKK. edit Egeskov Castle Hans Christian Andersen Museum, Bangs Boder 29, ☎ +45 65 51 46 01, [12] . Tues-Sun 10AM-4PM (or 6 PM in July-August).

A museum dedicated to the city's most famous son, author and poet Hans Christian Andersen, most famous for his fairy tales and in particular The Ugly Duckling and the Little Mermaid. Part of the museum is located in the house where Andersen was supposedly born (though he would never confirm it). The impressive collection is mainly documents from his life and times, period furniture, and many drawings and paper clippings he is famous for at home. 85 DKK for entrance. edit Hans Christian Andersen's Garden, Town Centre, behind Saint Knuds Kirke. A garden commemmorating H.C. Andersen. Large flower arrangements, a river & an ice cream shop make this park an ideal location for a picnic. The small attractions of the park include a pergola, the “Chinese Wall” a statue of Hans Christian Andersen and close by – in the river – there is a sculpture of a paperboat (a prop from one of H.C. Andersens fairy tales). edit Odense Zoo, Sdr. Boulevard 306, ☎ +45 66 11 13 60 ( odensezoo@odensezoo.dk ), [13] .

10AM-4PM (or 6PM in summer). One Denmark's biggest tourist attractions is the Odense zoo, covering almost 4 hectares on both sides the Odense River. The Oceanium opened in 2001, is the main show-piece featuring a tour though South America, including a very impressive aviary and indoor rain forest. Children: 55 DKK, Adults: 110 DKK, Family: (2 adults, and 2 children) 300 DKK. edit Saint Knuds Kirke, Klosterbakken 2 (Next to the Town Hall), ☎ +45 66 12 03 92, [14] . 9am-4pm. Cathedral of King Canute the Holy, who became a martyr nearby in 1086. His tomb and that of his brother are in the crypt with many other burial stones of dignitaries of the day. Free Entry.. edit Galleri Galschiot, Banevaenget 22, ☎ 66184058, [15] . Mon-fri 9am to 5pm.

Gallery Galschiot is the sculptor Jens Galschiot's 2500 m2 studio and museum. The place is one of Denmark's most spectacular and biggest private art workshops. The place is full of activities, and besides the artist's workshop, there is also a bronze foundry, gallery shop, art schools, wicker workshop, TV-studios, Sculpture Park and a 400 m2 art gallery. free. edit Budget[ edit ] China Box, Vestergade 1 (Next to the Town Hall), ☎ +45 66 12 06 24. 11am-10pm. Good quality take-away Chinese at affordable prices. Between 22 DKK & 35 DKK. edit Emils Hot House, Vestergade 17 (Next to the Town Hall), ☎ +45 66 12 18 18‎, [22] . S-W 11AM-10PM,Th-Sa 11AM-6AM. Take-away burgers, pizza & hot dogs. Between 15 DKK & 45 DKK.

edit Happy Chicken, Vestergade 17 (Next to the Town Hall), ☎ +45 66 17 85 43‎. All-Day. Budget Chinese food. The quality is not quite as good as that in China Box. Between 20 DKK & 45 DKK. edit Cafe du Nord, Vestergade 20 (Near to the Town Hall), ☎ +45 66 11 92 11. 9am-7pm. edit Mid-range[ edit ] Cuckoo's Nest, Vestergade 73, ☎ +45 65 91 57 87, [23] . M-W 9AM-midnight,Th-Sa 9AM-2AM,Su 10AM-11PM. Stylish but relaxed cafe-bar in the front, with a courtyard restaurant in the back. Nacos, burgers, salads, fish, and tapas platters. Main dishes 70-200 DKK.

edit Splurge[ edit ] Den Gamle Kro (The Old Inn), Overgade 23, ☎ +45 66 12 14 33 ( dengamlekro@city-hotel-odense.dk , fax: +45 6617 8858), [24] . Daily 11AM-11PM. Easily one of the most attractive restaurants in the country, in a historical half timbered building, originally an old inn, built in 1863. French inspired and serves traditional Danish food. A la carte mains from 189 DKK, 2 course menu 297 DKK, 5 course menu 418 DKK.. edit Sortebro Kro, Sejerskovvej 20, ☎ +45 66 13 28 26 ( sortebro_kro@mail.tele.dk ), [25] . Daily noon-11PM. 18th century Inn near Den Fynske Landsby (Old Funen Village) Sejerskovej 20. Danish cuisine.

A la carte from 215 DKK, 3 courses menu 495 DKK. edit Statue at the SAS H.C.A. Hotel, Odense Brands Klædefabrik Bars in Odense have opening hours which tend to vary greatly. For example some bars close everyday at around midnight, while others stay open until 5AM or even later. Albani, Tværgade 2, ☎ +45 65 48 75 00 ( contact@royalunibrew.com ), [26] . A local beer, primarily Odense Pilsner and Odense Classic. The brewery was founded in 1859. edit The Australian Bar (A-Bar), Brandts Passage. The A-Bar is popular with students & young people due to its low prices. It is particularly popular with exchange students. Note: ID is required at the door. Door: 45 DKK, Drinks: Relatively Cheap..

edit Splurge[ edit ] Hotel Ansgar, Østre Stationsvej 32, ☎ +45-6611 9693 ( ansgar@email.dk , fax: +45-6611 9675), [37] . 600Dkk-900DKK. edit City Hotel, Hans Mules Gade 5, ☎ +45-6612-1258 ( reception@city-hotel-odense.dk , fax: +45-6612-9364), [38] . 570 DKK and above. edit Radisson SAS H.C. Andersen Hotel, Claus Bergs Gade 7, ☎ +45-6614-7800 ( hcandersen@radissonsas.com , fax: +45-6614-7890), [39] . 850 DKK and above. edit Knudsens Gaard, Hunderupgade 2, ☎ +45 63114311, [40] . Excellent if by car.

Residential area, at major cross roads out of town. 20-30 min.walk to city center. Good restaurant. DKK1.100.00 up. edit Gl. Avernæs, Helnæsvej 9, ☎ +45 63 73 73 73, [41] . A little from Odense, close to nature in a quiet and relaxing area DKK980.00 up. edit Stay safe[ edit ] Odense is generally a safe town for visitors, although criminal activities and violence occur and caution is recommended late at night. Although there is not really any reason for tourist to venture there, the Vollsmose area, is infamous in Denmark for its crime, social decay and a recent terrorism case. The problems are, however, highly exaggerated by the media and you will find the Vollsmose area to be no more insecure than most places. Cope[ edit ] Maps of Odense can be purchased in the two shops in the train-station for 10 DKK.

Similarly there are maps placed all around the town for visitors, Most ATM machines in Odense close between 2am & 6am, some shops only accept Danish credit cards & will not take foreign cards, but most of them normally accept Visa and American Express. Post offices can be located in the Brandts Passage, Føtex supermarket on Vesterbro street & Rosengård Centre. Denmark Denmark If you can see this message, your internet-browser is probably outdated! If you are using Internet Explorer 6.x or below you will not be able to view this website correctly. Using an outdated browser might constitute a security risk. Please consider upgrading now: The latest version of Internet Explorer can be downloaded at these websites. Denmark Denmark is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, constituting Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark. Denmark is southwest of Sweden and south of Norway and the mainland is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark also borders both the Baltic and the North Sea.

The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland (Jylland) and many islands, most notably Zealand (Sjaelland), Funen (Fyn), Vendsyssel-Thy, Lolland, Falster and Bornholm as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are also parts of the Kingdom of Denmark, as members of Rigsfaellesskabet but have autonomous status and are largely self-governing, and are each represented by two seats in the parliament. Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Denmark has a state-level government and local governments in 98 municipalities. Denmark has been a member of the European Union since 1973, although has not joined the Eurozone, a currency union among the European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their sole official currency. The Faroe Islands and Greenland are equal countries with Denmark within the Kingdom, but are not members of the European Union as Denmark is. Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Denmark has a state-level government and local governments in 98 municipalities.

Denmark has been a member of the European Union since 1973, although has not joined the Eurozone, a currency union among the European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their sole official currency. Denmark is known for Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales, such as The Emperor's New Clothes, The Little Mermaid, and The Ugly Duckling. Furthermore, Karen Blixen (pen name: Isak Dinesen), Nobel laureate author Henrik Pontoppidan, Nobel laureate physicist Niels Bohr, the comedic pianist Victor Borge and the philosopher Soeren Kierkegaard have also made a name for themselves outside Denmark. The capital city of Copenhagen includes the Tivoli gardens, the Amalienborg Palace (home of the Danish monarchy) and The Little Mermaid sculpture. The second largest city in Denmark is Aarhus. Aarhus is one of the oldest cities in the country. In Aarhus you can find Aarhus Cathedral which is the largest cathedral in Denmark and also the second largest in Northern Europe. The climate in Denmark is in the temperate zone.

The winters are not particularly cold, with mean temperatures in January and February of 0.0 °C, and the summers are cool, with a mean temperature in August of 15.7 °C. There is a lot of wind, which is stronger during the winter and weaker during the summer. Denmark has an average of 121 days per year with precipitation, on average receiving a total of 712 mm per year; autumn is the wettest season, and spring the driest. Because of Denmark's northern location, the length of the day with sunlight varies greatly. There are short days during the winter with sunrise coming around 9:30 a.m. and sunset 4:30 p.m., as well as long summer days with sunrise at 3:30 a.m. and sunset at 10 p.m. Capital 55°43′N 12°34′E﻿ / ﻿55.717, 12.567 Official languages 91.1% Danish, 8.9% (Germans, Greeks, Bosnian, Russian, Turks, Arabs) Demonym Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy - Total (ex.

Faroe Islands and Greenland) 43,098.31 km2 The Faroe Islands use +298 and Greenland uses +299. Copenhagen Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with a population of just over 1.1 million. Copenhagen is situated on the Islands of Zealand and Amager. First documented in the 11th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the beginning of the 15th century and during the 17th century under the reign of Christian IV it became an important regional centre. Copenhagen is usually ranked as one of the two largest cities of the Nordic Countries. From its humble origins as a fishing village to its heyday as the glittering capital of the Danish Empire, to its current position as one of the world's premier design capitals, the stories and characters of Copenhagen's history can be discovered in its sumptuous palaces, copper-roofed town houses and atmospheric cobbled squares.

Copenhagen has repeatedly been recognized as one of the cities with the best quality of life, and in 2008 it was singled out as the Most Liveable City in the World by international lifestyle magazine Monocle on their Top 25 Most Liveable Cities 2008 list. It is also considered one of the world's most environmentally friendly cities with the water in the inner harbor being so clean that it can be used for swimming and 36 % of all citizens commuting to work by bicycle, every day bicycling a total 1.1 million km. Weather averages for Copenhagen Source: World Weather Information Service 2008-01-06 What to see in Copenhagen and North Zealand: Copenhagen has attractions and sights to suit every taste and interest. Here are a few of them: Tivoli Tivoli Gardens, the highly popular amusement park, is usually top of everyone's list of places to visit. Founded in 1843 it is one of the oldest amusement parks in the world. Tivoli is more than just an amusement park with a beautiful, romantic park with lanterns in the trees that create a unique atmosphere.

Stroeget Stroeget is one of the longest city pedestrian streets in Europe. It winds its way through the inner city, with its shops full of world-class Danish design, fashions and much more. Nyhavn Nyhavn is a canal built by King Christian V in 1670, leading from Copenhagen Harbor to Kongens Nytorv. It is one of the oldest parts of the harbor. Today you will find many fine wooden vessels moored in the canal. There are also many colorful houses along the side canal. Today most of these houses are restaurants and a popular spot for both locals and tourists in the summer time. The Little Mermaid Although small in size, this statue of the main character in Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale by the same name is one of the most photographed statues in the world and continues to be the most popular tourist attraction in Denmark. Amalienborg Palace Home to the Queen Margrethe and Price Henrik during the winter time, Amalienborg Palace is a major architectural work and probably the most outstanding piece of Rococo architecture in Denmark.

Frederiksborg Castle In 1560 King Frederik II acquired the manor which King Christian IV later rebuilt to what is now Frederiksborg Castle and which was to be his royal residence. It is the largest Renaissance palace in Scandinavia. The palace is located on three small islands in the middle of a small lake and is adjoined by a large, baroque formal garden. Kronborg Castle Kronborg Castle is one of the most famous castles in Denmark. It is mostly known from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The castle is situated near the town of Helsingoer on the tip of Zealand at the narrowest point of the Oresund, the sound between Denmark and Sweden. In this part, the sound is only 4 km wide, hence the strategic importance of maintaining a fortress at this location. The castle has for centuries been one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was added to UNESCO's World Heritage Other cites: Aarhus Aarhus is the second largest city and the principal port of Denmark, situated on the peninsula of Jutland. Aarhus is the seat of the council of Aarhus municipality and claims the unofficial title "Capital of Jutland".

Aarhus Cathedral is the main religious edifice of Aarhus, Denmark, in the Jutland peninsula in the western part of the country. The cathedral is dedicated to the patron saint of sailors, St. Clemens, and located on the port-side of the central market of the town. The church is the longest in Denmark; it is 93 m long and 96 m high, with sitting place for around 1200 people, and its building started at the end of the 12th century. The Old Town in Aarhus, Denmark is an open-air village museum consisting of 75 historical buildings collected from 20 townships in all parts of the country. In 1914 the museum opened for the first time as the world's first open-air museum of its kind and to this day it remains one of just a few top rated Danish museums outside Copenhagen serving some 3.5 million visitors pr. year. The museum buildings are organized into a small village of chiefly half-timbered structures originally erected between 1550 and the late 1800s in various parts of the country and later moved to Aarhus during the 1900s.

In all there are some 27 rooms, chambers or kitchens, 34 workshops, 10 groceries or shops, 5 historical gardens, a post office, a customs office, a school and a theater. The village itself is the main attraction but most buildings are open for visitors; rooms are either decorated in the original historical style or organized into larger exhibits of which there are 5 regular with varying themes. There are several groceries, diners and workshops spread throughout the village with museum staff working in the roles of typical village figures i.e. merchant, blacksmith etc. adding to the illusion of a "living" village. Odense The city of Odense is the third largest city in Denmark. The name Odense comes from the Norse god Odin. Odense is the main city of the island of Funen, and one of the oldest cities of Denmark and had its 1000th anniversary in 1988. The birthplace of the writer of fairytales lies in the old city precinct. The Hans Christian Andersen Museum opened in 1908 as a museum focusing on the life and work of the writer, making it one of the first writer museums in the world.

The completely new museum exhibitions tell of the writer’s life, from his childhood years as the son of a poor shoemaker in Odense via the hard times he spent on his way towards realising his dreams in Copenhagen, his schooling, debut as a writer and career as an author, old age and death. You can follow the writer’s acquaintanceships, love life, artistic career and his many journeys. Hans Christian Anderson Museum, Odense, Denmark - Travel Photos by Galen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen (April 2, 1805 ï¿½ August 4, 1875) was a Danish author and poet, most famous for his fairy tales. Among his best-known stories are The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Snow Queen, The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, The Little Match Girl, The Ugly Duckling and The Red Shoes. During Andersen's lifetime he was feted by royalty and acclaimed for having brought joy to children across Europe. His fairy tales have been translated into over 150 languages and continue to be published in millions of copies all over the world and inspired many other works.

Hans Christian Anderson birth house Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark, on Tuesday, April 2, 1805. Most English (as well as German and French) sources use the name "Hans Christian Andersen", but in Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia he is usually referred to as merely "H. C. Andersen". His name "Hans Christian" is a traditional Danish name and is used as a single name, though originally a combination of two individual names. It is incorrect to use only one of the two parts without the other. It is an accepted custom in Denmark to use only the initials in this and a few other names. Hans Christian Andersen Andersen's father apparently believed that he might be related to nobility, and according to scholars at the Hans Christian Andersen Center, his paternal grandmother told him that the family had once been in a higher social class. However, investigation proves these stories were unfounded. The family apparently did have some connections to Danish royalty, but these were only work-related.

Nevertheless, the theory that Andersen was the illegitimate son of royalty continues to persist in Denmark, bolstered by the fact that the Danish king at the time took a personal interest in Andersen as a youth and paid for his education. The writer Rolf Dorset insists that not all options have been explored in determining Andersen's ancestry. Andersen displayed great intelligence and imagination as a young boy, traits that were fostered by the indulgence of his parents and by the superstition of his mother. He made himself a small toy-theatre and sat at home making clothes for his puppets, and reading all the plays that he could lay his hands upon; among them were those of Ludvig Holberg and William Shakespeare. Throughout his childhood, he had a passionate love for literature. He was known to memorize entire plays by Shakespeare and to recite them using his wooden dolls as actors. a published story In 1816, his father died in a fire and, in order to support himself, Andersen worked as an apprentice for both a weaver and a tailor. He later worked in a cigarette factory where his fellow workers humiliated him by betting on whether he was in fact a girl, pulling down his trousers to check.

At the age of fourteen, Andersen moved to Copenhagen seeking employment as an actor in the theatre. He had a pleasant soprano voice and succeeded in being admitted to the Royal Danish Theatre. This career stopped short when his voice broke. A colleague at the theatre had referred to him as a poet, and Andersen took this very seriously and began to focus on writing. Following an accidental meeting, Jonas Collin started taking an interest in the odd boy and sent Andersen to the grammar school in Slagelse, paying all his expenses. Before even being admitted to grammar-school, Andersen had already succeeded in publishing his first story, The Ghost at Palnatoke's Grave in 1822. Though an unwilling pupil, Andersen studied both in Slagelse and at a school in Elsinore until 1827. He later stated that these years had been the darkest and most bitter parts of his life. He had experienced living in his schoolmaster's own home, being abused in order to "build his character", and he had been alienated from his fellow students, being much older than most of them, homely and unattractive.

Furthermore, he was dyslexic, a very likely reason for his learning difficulties and he later said that the school faculty forbade or discouraged him to write. He would later learn to speak near fluent English, Dutch, and German, as well as the Scandinavian languages. as seen in a stereo viewer In 1829, Andersen enjoyed a considerable success with a short story entitled "A Journey on Foot from Holmen's Canal to the East Point of Amager". During the same season, he published both a farce and a collection of poems. He had little further progress, however, until 1833 when he received a small traveling grant from the King, making the first of his long European journeys. At Le Locle, in the Jura, he wrote "Agnete and the Merman"; in 1833 he visited the Italian seaside village of Sestri Levante (and is credited with naming its two bays) (see -- annual festival celebrates this); and in October 1834 he arrived in Rome. Andersen's first novel, The Improvisatore, was published in the beginning of 1835, and became an instant success. During these years, H.C.

Andersen resided in 20, Nyhavn, where a memorial plaque unveiled on the 8th of May in 1935 as a gift from Peter Schannong was placed. It was during 1835 that Andersen published the first installment of his immortal Fairy Tales (Danish: Eventyr). More stories, completing the first volume, were published in 1836 and 1837. The quality of these stories was not immediately recognised, and they sold poorly. At the same time, Andersen enjoyed more success with two novels: O.T. (1836) and Only a Fiddler. His Specialty book that is still known today was the Ugly Duckling. (1837). an Anderson papercut After a visit to Sweden in 1837, Andersen became inspired by Scandinavism and committed himself to writing a poem to convey his feeling of relatedness between the Swedes, the Danes and the Norwegians.

It was in July 1839 during a visit to the island of Funen that Andersen first wrote the text of his poem Jeg er en Skandinav (I am a Scandinavian).[6] Andersen designed the poem random to capture "the beauty of the Nordic spirit, the way the three sister nations have gradually grown together" as part of a Scandinavian national anthem. Composer Otto Lindblad set the poem to music and the composition was published in January 1840. Its popularity peaked in 1845, after which it was seldom sung. now seen around town In 1851, he published to wide acclaim In Sweden, a volume of travel sketches. A keen traveller, Andersen published several other long travelogues: Shadow Pictures of a Journey to the Harz, Swiss Saxony, etc. etc.

in the Summer of 1831 (A Poet's Bazaar (560), In Spain , and A Visit to Portugal in 1866 (The latter describes his visit with his Portuguese friends Jorge and Jose O'Neill, who were his fellows in the mid 1820s while living in Copenhagen.) In his travelogues, Andersen took heed of some of the contemporary conventions about travel writing; but always developed the genre to suit his own purposes. Each of his travelogues combines documentary and descriptive accounts of the sights he saw with more philosophical excurses on topics such as being an author, immortality, and the nature of fiction in the literary travel report. Some of the travelogues, such as In Sweden, even contain fairy-tales. In the 1840s Andersen's attention returned to the stage, however with no great success at all. His true genius was however proved in the miscellany the Picture-Book without Pictures (1840). The fame of his Fairy Tales had grown steadily; a second series began in 1838 and a third in 1845.

Andersen was now celebrated throughout Europe, although his native Denmark still showed some resistance to his pretensions. Between 1845 and 1864, H. C. Andersen lived in 67, Nyhavn, where a memorial plaque is placed. recreation of his work room in Nyhavn In June 1847, Andersen paid his first visit to England and enjoyed a triumphal social success during the summer. The Countess of Blessington invited him to her parties where intellectual and famous people could meet, and it was at one party that he met Charles Dickens for the first time. They shook hands and walked to the veranda which was of much joy to Andersen. He wrote in his diary "We had come to the veranda, I was so happy to see and speak to England's now living writer, whom I love the most." computer description of his living quarters Ten years later, Andersen visited England, primarily to visit Dickens. He stayed at Dickens' home for five weeks, oblivious to Dickens' increasingly blatant hints for him to leave.

Dickens' daughter said of Andersen, "He was a bony bore, and stayed on and on." Shortly after Andersen left, Dickens published David Copperfield, featuring the obsequious Uriah Heep, who is said to have been modeled on Andersen. Andersen quite enjoyed the visit, and never understood why Dickens stopped answering his letters. his traveling case Modern biographies often portray him as attracted to both women and men, and there is very clear evidence for both. in the Anderson birth house Andersen often fell in love with unattainable women and many of his stories are interpreted as references to his sexual grief. The most famous of these was the opera soprano Jenny Lind. One of his stories is "The Nightingale", was a written expression of his passion for Lind, and became the inspiration for her nickname, the "Swedish Nightingale". Andersen was often shy around women and had extreme difficulty in proposing to Lind. When Lind was boarding a train to take her to an opera concert, Anderson gave Lind a letter of proposal. Her feelings towards him were not mutual; she saw him as a brother, writing to him in 1844 "farewell...

God bless and protect my brother is the sincere wish of his affectionate sister, Jenny." A girl named Riborg Voigt was the unrequited love of Andersen's youth. A small pouch containing a long letter from Riborg was found on Andersen's chest when he died. At one point he wrote in his diary: "Almighty God, thee only have I; thou steerest my fate, I must give myself up to thee! Give me a livelihood! Give me a bride! My blood wants love, as my heart does!" Other disappointments in love included Sophie ï¿½rsted, the daughter of the physicist Hans Christian ï¿½rsted, and Louise Collin, the youngest daughter of his benefactor Jonas Collin. bed in the birth house Just like his interest in women, Andersen would become attracted to nonreciprocating men. For example Andersen wrote to Edvard Collin, "I languish for you as for a pretty Calabrian wench... my sentiments for you are those of a woman.

The femininity of my nature and our friendship must remain a mystery." Collin, who did not prefer men, wrote in his own memoir: "I found myself unable to respond to this love, and this caused the author much suffering." Likewise, the infatuations of the author for the Danish dancer Harald Scharff and Carl Alexander, the young hereditary duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, did not result in any relationships. Four of his letters to Carl are edited in an anthology by Rictor Norton. In Andersen's early life, his private journal records his refusal to have sexual relations. in the birth house In the spring of 1872, Andersen fell out of bed and was severely hurt. He never quite recovered, but he lived until August 4, 1875, dying painfully in a house called Rolighed (literally: calmness), near Copenhagen, the home of his close friends Moritz Melchior, a banker and his wife.

Shortly before his death, he had consulted a composer about the music for his funeral, saying: "Most of the people who will walk after me will be children, so make the beat keep time with little steps." His body was interred in the Assistens Kirkegï¿½rd in the Nï¿½rrebro area of Copenhagen. At the time of his death, he was an internationally renowned and treasured artist. He received a stipend from the Danish Government as a "national treasure". Before his death, steps were already underway to erect the large statue in his honor, which was completed and is prominently placed at the town hall square in Copenhagen. the modern Museum The critic Georg Brandes had questioned Andersen about whether he would write his autobiography. He claimed that it had already been written ï¿½ "The Ugly Duckling". The Memory Hall In the English-speaking world, stories such as "Thumbelina", "The Snow Queen", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Little Mermaid", "The Emperor's New Clothes", and "The Princess and the Pea" remain popular and are widely read.

"The emperor's new clothes" and "ugly duckling" have both passed into the English language as well-known expressions. In the Copenhagen harbor there is a statue of The Little Mermaid, placed in honour of Hans Christian Andersen. 2 April, Andersen's birthday, is celebrated as International Children's Book Day. The year 2005 was the bicentenary of Andersen's birth and his life and work was celebrated around the world. In Denmark, particularly, the nation's most famous son has been feted like no other literary figure. In the city of Lublin, Poland is the Puppet Theatre of Hans Christian Andersen. A $12.5 million theme park based on Andersen's tales and life opened in Shanghai at the end of 2006. Multi-media games as well as all kinds of cultural contests related to the fairytales are available to visitors.

He was chosen as the star of the park because he is a "nice, hardworking person who was not afraid of poverty", Shanghai Gujin Investment general manager Zhai Shiqiang was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying Text from Wikipedia 10 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Odense | PlanetWare 10 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Odense Written by Andrew Birbeck Nestled in the center of Denmark's garden island, Funen, which is packed full of magnificent manor houses and palaces, Odense is named after the Norse God of war, wisdom, and poetry, Odin. This culture-rich town is also the birthplace of that most famous Dane and teller of fairy tales, Hans Christian Andersen. It's not surprising Andersen took to his craft as he did, for this is a magical land with no shortage of literary inspiration. The excellent Hans Christian Andersen Museum will take you into the world of his imagination. That and his childhood home should be high up on your list of must-see attractions. The city is easily reached from Copenhagen , either a drive of less than two hours, or direct train through magnificent unspoilt countryside.

1 Editor's Choice Egeskov Castle Egeskov Castle Share: Less than 30 minutes' drive from Odense is the fairy tale Egeskov Castle, the best preserved moat-castle in Europe . The current structure was built by Frands Brockenhuus and completed in 1554. This superb Renaissance building, which looks so peaceful and idyllic now, was built for defence against attack. It consists of two long houses connected by a thick double wall so wide that contained within it are hidden stairs and a well to secure a water supply during a siege. Over the centuries, the castle has changed hands many times and later became a model farm. The grounds opened to the public in 1959 and since then, much renovation has taken place. A Veteran Car Museum opened here in 1967, and other tourist attractions include a treetop walk and Segway tours. The Banqueting Hall is magnificent, and the setting of this beautiful castle is breathtaking. From Egeskov Castle, you can travel 15 kilometers to Svendborg and board a ferry to the picturesque island of Aero with its quaint cottages and cobbled lanes.

Address: Egeskov Gade, Kvarnstrup 2 Hans Christian Andersen Museum Hans Christian Andersen Museum Allie_Caulfield Share: Dating from 1908 and dedicated to the writer's life and work, the Hans Christian Andersen Museum explores Andersen's world through artifacts, mementos, and exhibits. Of particular interest are his drawings and artwork. The interactive installations include a PC that allows you to leaf through his books. At the listening posts you can hear his wealth of stories and poems. The museum shop has a wide selection of books in several languages, both about and by Hans Christian Andersen. The domed hall is adorned with scenes from the autobiographical book Story of My Life. To the southwest of Odense Cathedral, in Munkemøllestræde (3-5), you'll find Hans Christian Andersen's childhood home (Andersen's Barndomshjem) with a memorial plaque on the gable end. Andersen lived here from 1807-1819. The building is now a branch of the main museum.

Address: Bangs Boder 29, Odense 4 Denmark's Railway Museum (Danmarks Jernbanemuseum) Denmark's Railway Museum (Danmarks Jernbanemuseum) Kevan Share: A little under 1.5 kilometers from Odense Cathedral is the wonderful Railway Museum with an eclectic collection of 19th century locomotives. Here, you can relive the glorious days of steam trains right through to more modern diesel trains. Originally constructed as an engine workshop for DSB and the private North Funen Railway Company, the roundhouse is now an impressive exhibition space where you can experience the history of Danish railways. Aside from the impressive and comprehensive permanent collection, which includes double-decker carriages and a Royal Saloon Car, there are regular visiting locomotives, including Thomas the Tank Engine, and the chance to take a ride on a vintage steam train.

Address: Dannebrogsgade 24, Odense 5 Brandts Art Hall (Brðndts Klædefabrik) Brandts Art Hall (Brðndts Klædefabrik) Share: In the city's west, a leisurely ten-minute stroll from the cathedral is Brandts Art Hall (Brðndts Klædefabrik), a former textile factory which is now an Arts Center, with shops, restaurants, and cafés. The Art Hall itself is an exhibition covering an area of 1,600 square meters. In rooms, which once housed spinning-jennies and looms, are stunning paintings, sculptures, and a range of works from the fields of architecture, design, and handicrafts. The new Collection Wing holds more than 15,000 classic works of art and photographic exhibits by world-famous photographers. In addition to all this, there are regular video installations, concerts, and public lectures.

Address: Brandts Passage 37, Odense 6 Odense Town Hall & Flakhaven Square Odense Town Hall & Flakhaven Square Allie_Caulfield Share: Odense town center, around the cathedral and Town Hall, is a pleasant pedestrian zone where outdoor markets often take place. In Flakhaven, a square bordering the long street known as Vestergade, you'll find the Town Hall, the oldest part of which was built in red brick in the late 19th century and modeled on an Italian-Gothic style. Further enhancement of the building took place between 1936 and 1955. The hall contains many works of art, including the sculpture, Spring in Funen. If visiting during the summer months, there are regular free concerts at Flakhaven and an annual flower festival. Address: Flakhaven, Odense 7 St. Knud's Cathedral (Skt. Knuds Kirke) St. Knud's Cathedral (Skt. Knuds Kirke) Share: To the south of Odense Town Hall, you'll find St. Knud's Cathedral (Skt. Knuds Kirke).

It's named after the Danish saint, Knud IV, who began building the structure around 1100. The original church was burned down in the 12th century, and after a further great fire, a three-aisled replacement was started in the 1300s. In fact, it took almost 200 years to complete. A notable feature of the interior is the crypt below the choir, which contains the tombs of King Knud, his brother Benedict, and various other kings and their consorts. Behind the High Altar stands a huge reredos with magnificent carvings. Other points of interest are the epitaphs, the bronze font of 1620, and the pulpit dating from 1750. To the east of the cathedral, a park named after Hans Christian Andersen (H.C. Andersen Haven) complete with a statue of the writer stretches along the waterfront. Address: Jernbanegade 9, Odense 9 Møntergården Local History Museum Møntergården Local History Museum mblaa Share: A two-minute walk from Flakhaven is the Møntergården Museum.

This is the Old Mint dating from 1646, which now serves as a Museum of local and cultural history. The complex includes typical houses of old Odense from the 16th and 17th centuries as well as a Baroque warehouse. The buildings are furnished with interiors of various periods, and there are collections of local costumes, ceramics, ecclesiastical art, toys, silver, clocks, and coins. The "Odense in the Middle Ages" exhibition is particularly interesting. In 2013, a new building housing the exhibition, "Funen - Center of the Universe" opened. Address: Møntestræde 1, Odense Andersen, Hans Christian biography, birth date, birth place and pictures Email Print Hans Christian Andersen was born in the town of Odense, Denmark, on Tuesday, April 2, 1805. "Hans" and "Christian" are traditional Danish names. Andersen's father considered himself related to nobility. According to scholars at the Hans Christian Andersen Center, his paternal grandmother had told his father that their family had in the past belonged to a higher social class, but investigations prove these stories unfounded.

The family apparently was affiliated with Danish royalty, but through employment or trade. Today, speculation persists that Andersen may have been an illegitimate son of the royal family. Whatever the reason, King Frederick VI took a personal interest in him as a youth and paid for a part of his education. According to writer Rolf Dorset, Andersen's ancestry remains indeterminate. 1816. Hans Christian was forced to support himself. He worked as a weaver's apprentice and later, for a tailor. At 14, he moved to Copenhagen to seek employment as an actor. Having an excellent soprano voice, he was accepted into the Royal Danish Theatre, but his voice soon changed. A colleague at the theatre told him that he considered Andersen a poet. Taking the suggestion seriously, he began to focus on writing. Andersen had a half-sister, Karen Marie, with whom he managed to speak on only a few occasions before her death. Career In 1829, Andersen enjoyed considerable success with a short story titled "A Journey on Foot from Holmen's Canal to the East Point of Amager". He also published a comedy and a collection of poems that season.

Though he made little progress writing and publishing immediately thereafter, in 1833 he received a small traveling grant from the King, enabling him to set out on the first of his many journeys through Europe. At Jura, near Le Locle, Switzerland, he wrote the story, "Agnete and the Merman". He spent an evening in the Italian seaside village of Sestri Levante the same year, inspiring the name, The Bay of Fables. (See Voyagefever.com — an annual festival celebrates it). In October, 1834, he arrived in Rome. Andersen's first novel, The Improvisatore, was published at the beginning of 1835, becoming an instant success. During these traveling years, Hans Christian Andersen lived in an apartment at number 20, Nyhavn, Copenhagen. There, a memorial plaque was unveiled on May 8, 1835, a gift by Peter Schannong. Andersen's Fairy Tales It was during 1835 that Andersen published the first installment of his immortal Fairy Tales (Danish: Eventyr). More stories, completing the first volume, were published in 1836 and 1837.

The quality of these stories was not immediately recognized, and they sold poorly. At the same time, Andersen enjoyed more success with two novels: O.T. (1836) and Only a Fiddler. His Specialty book that is still known today was the Ugly Duckling (1837). Jeg er en Skandinav After a visit to Sweden in 1837, Andersen became inspired by Scandinavism and committed himself to writing a poem to convey his feeling of relatedness between the Swedes, the Danes and the Norwegians. It was in July 1839 during a visit to the island of Funen that Andersen first wrote the text of his poem Jeg er en Skandinav (I am a Scandinavian). Andersen designed the poem to capture "the beauty of the Nordic spirit, the way the three sister nations have gradually grown together" as part of a Scandinavian national anthem. Composer Otto Lindblad set the poem to music and the composition was published in January 1840. Its popularity peaked in 1845, after which it was seldom sung. In 1851, he published to wide acclaim In Sweden, a volume of travel sketches.

A keen traveler, Andersen published several other long travelogues: Shadow Pictures of a Journey to the Harz, Swiss Saxony, etc. etc. in the Summer of 1831 (A Poet's Bazaar (560), In Spain , and A Visit to Portugal in 1866 (The latter describes his visit with his Portuguese friends Jorge and Jose O'Neill, who were his fellows in the mid 1820s while living in Copenhagen.) In his travelogues, Andersen took heed of some of the contemporary conventions about travel writing; but always developed the genre to suit his own purposes. Each of his travelogues combines documentary and descriptive accounts of the sights he saw with more philosophical excurses on topics such as being an author, immortality, and the nature of fiction in the literary travel report. Some of the travelogues, such as In Sweden, even contain fairy-tales. In the 1840s Andersen's attention returned to the stage, however with no great success at all. His true genius was however proved in the miscellany the Picture-Book without Pictures (1840).

The fame of his Fairy Tales had grown steadily; a second series began in 1838 and a third in 1845. Andersen was now celebrated throughout Europe, although his native Denmark still showed some resistance to his pretensions. Between 1845 and 1864, H. C. Andersen lived in 67, Nyhavn, Copenhagen, where a memorial plaque is placed. Meetings with Dickens In June 1847, Andersen paid his first visit to England and enjoyed a triumphal social success during the summer. The Countess of Blessington invited him to her parties where intellectual and famous people could meet, and it was at one party that he met Charles Dickens for the first time. They shook hands and walked to the veranda which was of much joy to Andersen. He wrote in his diary "We had come to the veranda, I was so happy to see and speak to England's now living writer, whom I love the most." Ten years later, Andersen visited England, primarily to visit Dickens. He stayed at Dickens' home for five weeks, oblivious to Dickens' increasingly blatant hints for him to leave.

Dickens' daughter said of Andersen, "He was a bony bore, and stayed on and on." Shortly after Andersen left, Dickens published David Copperfield, featuring the obsequious Uriah Heep, who is said to have been modeled on Andersen. Andersen himself greatly enjoyed the visit, and never understood why Dickens stopped answering his letters. Death In the spring of 1872, Andersen fell out of bed and was severely hurt. He never fully recovered, but he lived until August 4, 1875, dying of insidious causes in a house called Rolighed (literally: calmness), near Copenhagen, the home of his close friends Moritz Melchior, a banker, and his wife. Shortly before his death, he had consulted a composer about the music for his funeral, saying: "Most of the people who will walk after me will be children, so make the beat keep time with little steps." His body was interred in the Assistens Kirkegård in the Nørrebro area of Copenhagen. At the time of his death, he was an internationally renowned and treasured artist. He received a stipend from the Danish Government as a "national treasure".

Before his death, steps were already underway to erect the large statue in his honour, which was completed and is prominently placed at the town hall square in Copenhagen. Legacy In the English-speaking world, stories such as "Thumbelina", "The Snow Queen", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Little Mermaid", "The Emperor's New Clothes", and "The Princess and the Pea" remain popular and are widely read. "The emperor's new clothes" and "Ugly duckling" have both passed into the English language as well-known expressions. In the Copenhagen harbor there is a statue of The Little Mermaid, placed in honor of Hans Christian Andersen. April 2, Andersen's birthday, is celebrated as International Children's Book Day. The year 2005 was the bicentenary of Andersen's birth and his life and work was celebrated around the world. In Denmark, particularly, the nation's most famous son has been feted like no other literary figure. In the United States, statues of Hans Christian Andersen may be found in Central Park, New York, and in Solvang, California.

The Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division holds a unique collection of Andersen materials bequeathed by the Danish-American actor Jean Hersholt. Of particular note is an original scrapbook Andersen prepared for the young Jonas Drewsen. The city of Bratislava, Slovakia features a statue of Hans Christian Andersen in memory of his visit in 1841. In the city of Lublin, Poland is the Puppet & Actor Theatre of Hans Christian Andersen. A $12.5-million theme park based on Andersen's tales and life opened in Shanghai at the end of 2006. Multi-media games as well as all kinds of cultural contests related to the fairy tales are available to visitors. He was chosen as the star of the park because he is a "nice, hardworking person who was not afraid of poverty", Shanghai Gujin Investment general manager Zhai Shiqiang was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying. Jonas Collin, who, following a chance encounter with Andersen, immediately felt a great affection for him, sent him to a grammar school in Slagelse, covering all his expenses. Andersen had already published his first story, The Ghost at Palnatoke's Grave in 1822.

Though not a keen student, he also attended school at Elsinore, until 1827. He later said his years in school were the darkest and bitterest of his life. At one school, he lived at his schoolmaster's home. There he was abused in order "to improve his character", he was told. He felt alienated from his classmates, being older than most of them. Considered unattractive, he suffered also from dyslexia. He later said the faculty had discouraged him from writing in general.

Question: Name the writer known as 'Denmark's most famous son', his birthplace in Odense is now a museum?
Answer: Hans Christian Anderson