Odense is considered the third-largest city in Denmark. It’s the main city of the island of Funen (Danish: Fyn) in Southern Denmark. By road, Odense is located 45 kilometres (28 miles) north of Svendborg, 144 kilometres (89 miles) to the south of Aarhus and 167 kilometres (104 miles) to the southwest of Copenhagen. Hans Christian Andersen, who’s best known for his writings of fairy tales, was born in, and spent his early childhood, in Odense.
Photos taken by local journalist, Simon Staun.
Saturday, 25th September 2021.
Tony and Tatiana next to a statue of Hans Christian Andersen inside the Hans Christian Andersen Museum (or the H.C. Andersen House) in Odense. Although the house is semi-separate from the exhibitions. Andersen is depicted holding a book and with his other arm held aloft. He is looking and pointing at something in front of him. The statue is placed on a mirrored plinth.
It’s part of the exhibition of the new Andersen’s House of Fairy Tales. Many of the exhibits that represent Andersen’s fairy tails are on, or by, glass mirrors to give them extra dimensions and enhance the visitor’s experience and imagination. The modern parts of the museum were designed by Bianchini & Lusiardi Associati. The modern museum is behind the little yellow house where it’s believed Andersen was born.
According to the museum’s website (https://hcandersenshus.dk) the experience is offered via sound, light, space and scenery designed in collaboration with 12 international artists, in this innovative exhibition, the visitor experience Andersen and his works speak to us. The experience takes visitors underground down a winding ramp to the exhibition rooms where visions of some of Andersen’s fairy tails are re-created.Tony and Tatiana touching the legs of the Hans Christian Andersen statue.A life-sized bust of Hans Christian Andersen on a mirrored plinth.Tatiana and Tony touching the face of the Hans Christian Andersen bust.The rear of the Hans Christian Andersen bust with Tony feeling the hair and Tatiana along side.Tony and Tatiana by a golden bird cage with a metal bird inside. This is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Nightingale, which tells the story of an emperor who prefers the tinkling of a bejewelled mechanical nightingale to the song of the real bird.Tony and Tatiana touching a high stack of mattresses, which are all decorated in different colours and with pretty patterns. This is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale titled The Princess and the Pea. A story about a young woman whose royal identity is established by a test of her sensitivity.Again Tatiana and Tony feeling the stack of mattresses which are on a large golden bed. The mattresses are created and/or covered by various materials and textures.Another view of the bed with the big stack of mattresses. Tony and Tatiana at the far end.Tony and Tatiana touching a life-sized metal statue of a soldier who is holding a bayonet and wearing a tall hat. This is from the fairy tale titled The Steadfast Tin Soldier which is about a tin soldier’s love for a paper ballerina. It’s unclear if this statue has only one leg or two!Tony and Tatiana passing by a wall inside the Hans Christian Andersen Museum. The wall is white and is decorated with large handwritten messages written in various languages.Tatiana and Tony climbing a curved staircase. The wall alongside has comments about Hans Christian Andersen’s work written on it in large handwritten lettering. Examples include “The words and characters have been dear friends throughout childhood” and “For me he writes a beautiful story about an ugly subject”.Tatiana and Tony outside a black front door belonging to a pale yellow house. This is believed to be the house where Hans Christian Andersen was born on 2nd April 1805. However, he only lived here for two years before moving to a house on Munkemøllestræde 3 – 5, close to Odense cathedral.Another view of Tony and Tatiana outside the Hans Christian Andersen house.Tony and Tatiana touching a bronze statue of Hans Christian Andersen sitting on a bench outside the Radisson Hotel, located on Claus Bergs Gade 7 in the Old Town.Tony and Tatiana sitting on the Hans Christian Andersen bench. Andersen is sitting in the middle wearing an overcoat and top hat. He’s made of metal and has a case with him that is out of view. The statue was created by Danish artist, Jens Galschiøt.Tony and Tatiana examining a bronze sculpture outside the Radisson Hotel. It is in the form of a pillar depicting a man holding an upside-down woman with a goat standing upright to his waist. This is one of three pillar sculptures inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales. The entire sculpture consists of 3 pillars, each focusing on one of Andersen’s fairy tales and a bench with feet for legs.
The pillars around the entrance to the hotel are based on Clumsy Hans and The Steadfast Tin Soldier. The one on the corner is based on the Little Mermaid. The bench with feet is placed between the second and third pillar. The sculptures are all made in bronze. Jens Galschiøt (1954 – ) is certified as a construction blacksmith and is a self-taught silversmith and sculptor. He lives in Odense, where he opened a studio back in 1985. The studio can be visited for free, Monday-Friday.
The Hans Christian Andersen museum is offering a 50% discount on tickets until 31 October 2021 – and on a next visit! Because parts of the museum have yet to be completed – and because they are still testing and working on installations. The audio guide was unavailable when Tony visited (25th September) due to technical issues. However, the audio guide the museum will offer is on an iPad and doesn’t have tactile buttons, so many blind-visually impaired people won’t be able to use one without assistance, which the museum doesn’t provide.
