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Welcome
to Hans Christian Andersen Country - Denmark |
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| Hans
Christian Andersen |
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Hans Christian Andersen 200 year birthday - 2005
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Our Tribute to a Great Dane - |
| Prologue
Hundred and hundred of biographies have been written by experts
and non-experts about Hans Christian Andersen’s life - but
the summery of all biographies ends with the same outcome –
that his life was the story about an ugly duckling that turned into
a beautiful swan. Just like in one of his famous fairytales.
Here is our version and contribution to celebrate a Great Dane and
a world famous writer.
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| Hans
Christian Andersen (1805 - 1875) |
Once upon a time…
Hans Christian Andersen was born 2. April 1805 in
Odense on the Isle of Funen in the 19th century and right in the middle
of the Napoleonic wars, where Denmark was undergoing tremendous changes
in the way of living.
At that time there was a lot of poverty and slum in Denmark as most
cities often were filthy and overcrowded, with raw sewage everywhere
and a water supply that left a lot to be desired – and the poorer
areas suffered the worse with diseases and mal nutrition as a constant
threat to the poor inhabitants vulnerability. |
Hans Christian Andersen 1855 |
It
was in this type of environment Hans Christian Andersen’s lived
and spent his childhood and probably, it was in the early period of
his life where he created his blooming imagination
and fantasy by dreaming of better times and places,
that possibly later had great influence in his writing.
He went to the infant school for the poor next to
his home and then the cities charity school, where
he received very little education. Nearby his home was also the great
St. Knuds Cathedral and Odense Canal
where he played and dreamed of being a prince and becoming famous. |
Hans
Christian Andersen's home in Odense and today also
the museum of the famous writer. |
The
infant school for poor - where Hans Christian Andersen
went as a pupil, next to his home. |
Lived
during the reign of 5 Danish monarch’s...
When Hans Christian Andersen was born the reigning King in 1805 was
King Christian 7, and when Hans Christian Andersen
was about 9 years old in 1814 a new set of school laws went to effect
under King Frederik 6, making it obligatory that
all children between 7 and 14 years had to go to school and receive
compulsory education. In 1814 the Danish state was bankrupted and
the later King Christian 8 had to cede Norway to
Sweden. In 1849 the “Absolute Monarchy” was replaced by
a “Constitutional Monarchy” given to the Danes by King
Frederik 7. In 1864-66 Denmark lost Schleswig-Holstein to
the Prussians under the reign of King Cristian 9.
Parents and upbringing…
His father - Hans Andersen was a poor shoemaker,
who had great influence on his son's upbringing because he read stories
and played toy theatre with him. He died when Hans Christian Andersen
was 11.
His mother, who worked all her life as a simple hard working washwoman,
earned a living by washing peoples laundry. She protected him during
his childhood, as he was a highly emotional child with many emasculate
interests like sewing and playing with dolls. His mother was remarried
and died in 1833. |
St.
Knuds Cathedral in Odense where the famous writer was
confirmed in 1819 and a full size statue of him facing Odense Canal
and the Fairy Tale Garden. The Catheral is placed next to his home. |
Odense
Canal next to the Fairy Tale
Garden, where Hans Christian Andersen spent many hours playing and
dreaming of being a prince. Here is the boat of "The Steadfast
Tin Soldier"
sailing in the Canal. |
The troublesome Juvenile years…
After his father died Hans Christian Andersen was forced to work in
a factory where he often was mobbed because of his high squeaky
voice, tallness and long legs.
Life was not very easy for a young boy, who lived his life in poverty
and on the shadow side of the street. After is mother had remarried
to a man, who hardly understood her son and after he found the home
to crowded, he made up his mind to move from Odense.
Departure
and new career…
Inspired by his creative talent and nature and his search for a better
life, he decided to move to Copenhagen. With help
from his mother and only 12 “Kroner” in his pocket, he
left Odense for good on 6. September 1819, at the
age of 14, and headed towards Copenhagen.
His ambitions were to start a career in the theatrical world as an
actor, singer or ballet-dancer.
Copenhagen
and The Royal Theatre…
Three years after he arrived to Copenhagen, he was still not successful
trying to earn a living as an actor, dancer or singer. In the following
years he got more acquainted with the Royal Theatre and writing
poetry, but due to his voice changing to another level and
his lack of ability to dance or act he stopped at the theatre.
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The
Royal Theatre built around 1875 and centrum for Hans Christian
Andersen's first years in Copenhagen. His debut as a play-writer was
in 1829 and the drama was played at this venue. |
Hans
Christian Andersen lived in this building in Nyhavn 20,
where he wrote is first fairy tales in 1835. The house excists today
and can be seen from the outside. |
School
and education…
His debut as a writer in 1822 with the title “Youthful
Attempts” and his fascinating way to recite stories
began to pay off. As he already had written several plays too - fortunately
one of the directors from the Royal Theatre Jonas Collin felt great
sympathy for this young man and his growing authorship. After reading
some of his first plays he offered him a scholarship and in 1822 he
entered the Latin grammar school at Slagelse, where
he was among much younger pupils. He then later went to the grammar
school at Elsinore. University
student…
After several years at grammar schools supported by Jonas Collins
he gained access to the university in 1827, where he finished his
education as a university student.
Authorship – novelist and Fairytales…
In the following years Hans Christian Andersen received a lot of
attention from the upper-class literary circles, as he developed
a sensitive and farcical authorship
that also had an appealing effect to a very broad audience.
His first works “A Walking Tour from Holmen’s
Canal to the Eastern Point of Amager” was published
in 1829, and the same year his debut as a play-writer with “Love
in Saint Nicholas Church Tower” a musical drama,
which was played at The Royal Theatre.
His first novel “The Improvisatore” was
published in 1835, and in the same year his very first collections
of Fairy Tales - Told for Children was published and received with
success.
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Hans
Christian Andersen's first English translation of
fairy tales published in 1846 and distributed world wide. |
One
of Hans Christian Andersen’s many paper cuts,
which he gave to friends and children. Many motifs illustrated his
fairy tales. |
Breakthrough and aristocratic society…
Hans Christian Andersen created a new style of writing. Especially
the stimulating and captivating content in his fairy tale stories
broke with the traditional way of writing, which gave him his literary
breakthrough and international fame. He
mastered the direct interpretation of the spoken language into written
words and formed a simple structure of sentences that was light and
easy to read and understandable for common people and children. He
combined his supreme storytelling with a noble sense
of humour and genuine pathos. His sharp sarcastic commentary
of the social life was in general based on his cultural background,
and his distinct witnessing of people and places was imminently written
in his tales. Hans
Christian Andersen was soon recognized as a great author and considered
as the founder of modern fairytales. He was often
invited as a celebrity to the inner-circles of the aristocratic
society and was a welcome and usual guest at manor houses and also
a regular visitor at the royal residences here and abroad.
To travel is to live…
Hans Christian Andersen philosophy and favourite phrase was “To
travel is to live” and over the years 1840 –
1858 he became a busy traveller that journeyed all over Europe,
meeting fellow writers, celebrities,
princes and royalties. He found the experience
of travelling so touching that he wrote his first travel journal
and later a number of travel books, which all were published. Many
of his journeys were financed by public funds often initiated
by the King to ensure his continued travel activities and
making it possible to visit foreign destinations like Amsterdam,
Austria, Germany, Holland, Italy, Morocco, Norway, Portugal, Spain
and Switzerland.
When Hans Christian Andersen travelled around in Denmark or abroad,
he always had a long rope packed with his travel
kit that could be used as a fire escape, because he always was scarred
of fires braking out during his stay.
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Hans
Christian Andersen’s original dairy book and traveling notes
from his trip to Germany and Harzen in 1831. |
Original
text from hans Christian Andersen's dairy book with drawings
of his carriage during his journey to Germany in 1831. |
A popular and productive author…
During the following years Hans Christian Andersen became a very productive
and popular author, with a large production of fairy tale collections,
travel literature and autobiographies behind him. Since, his entire
stream of literary works have been translated into 152 different
languages and published all over the world.
His biography and memoirs, “The Fairy Tale of My Life”
was a bestseller and his famous poem about “The woman
with the eggs” leaves the reader with thoughtfulness
and an timeless educative side of life that reminds you to never leave
all your eggs in one basket.
168
fairy tales
All together Hans Christian Andersen wrote 168 fairy
tales and some of the best known are literary classics
today like "The Tinderbox",
"The Emperor's New Suit", “Clumsy
Hans” "The Nightingale",
"The Princess and the Pea", "The
Steadfast Tin Soldier", “The Little
Mermaid”, “The Nightingale”,
“The Darning Needle”, “The
Swineherd”, “The Little Match Girl”,
"Little Claus and Big Claus", "The
Snow Queen" - and last but not
least “The Ugly Duckling”. |
Literary
footprints and unforgettable marks all over the world…
Hans Christian Andersen was a gifted writer that could explain the
simple things in life in a very imaginative manner.
His marvellous illustrative way of describing how – The old
queen who laid a "pea" under twenty goose
feather mattresses and on top of these twenty more eider down quilts
to ensure that she could find a real princess for the prince. –
Clumsy Hans that went on a goat to marry the princess and said:
“If she takes me, she will take me - and if she doesn't take
me, I'll take her, anyway." – The Emperor who
was possessed of wearing new clothes and swindlers who pretended
to put a new invisible suit on him, until a little child proclaimed
“But he hasn't got anything on!” -
The Ugly Duckling who went through so much misery, until it one
day surprisingly saw it’s own image reflected in the water
surface as a “beautiful white swan”.
These extracts and others have been and will be interpreted by generations
- and his visionary metaphorical authorship will continue to be
studied in many centuries to come, as well as his literary
footprints that have set unforgettable marks all over the
world.
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Original
hand written manuscript with corrections and additions of The
Emperor's New Clothes, which was published
in 1837. |
The
fairy tale about Clumsy Hans was written by Hans
Christian Andersen around 1853-54 and published 30 April, 1855. |
The end of a real fairytale…
Hans Christian Andersen was an extraordinary person who believed that
his life was a real fairytale.
Many of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales became immortal
and the fairy tales immortalise Hans Christian Andersen
- as they will live happily forever after. The
flame of his life went out on August 4, 1875. The
great Dane and cosmopolite died in his home called “Rolighed”
after several years of serious illness, and the funeral was held
at the Cathedral of Our Lady in Copenhagen on August 11,
1875 in presence of the royal family and other prominent
persons together with crowds of admiring fellow citizens.
Fianl
Resting Place
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Statue
of Hans Christian Andersen in The Kings Garden at
Rosenborg Palace, was given by the Danes in memory of a great
fairy tale poet and erected in 1880 five years after his
death. |
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The story
about “The Ugly Duckling” that turned
in to a beautiful white swan is a classic-present
fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen and one of the most translated
and read stories in the world. |
Once upon a time…
The story of a poor shoemaker’s son that became world
famous, is a story of a person who wanted to be accepted
for what he achieved during his life in spite of his background and
complicated nature. His constant search for recognition
and devotion from others is the story of an ugly
grey duckling that turned into a graceful and beautiful white
swan that flew away as an elegant royal bird
out to freedom.
There,
that is a true story.
In
deep respect and admiration,
George
B. Moller
Editor-in-Chief
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Visit
Hans Christian Andersen’s home and museum in Odense.
If you are in Denmark or Copenhagen we highly recommend you to visit
the birthplace, home and museum
of Hans Christian Andersen in Odense. There is nowhere
in the entire country or world you could find a better place to
experience this great writer. When you step into his home you will
immediately feel the atmosphere from the past and actually see all
of his original scripts, drawings, paper cuts, travel documents
and photos together with the chronological
story of his life and work – which is remarkable
and unbelievable.
You
can see and visit St. Knuds Cathedral near by his
home, where Hans Christian Andersen as a child listened to the Cathedral’s
big bells chiming every hour of the day and then walk by Odense
Canal where he played and dreamed as a boy. You can also
see the infant school for poor where he learnt
his first lessons and then visit the old city centre with half-timbered
houses and cobblestone streets, which actually existed during Hans
Christian Andersen’s childhood.
The tour is a historical gem for visitors.
Travel time to Odense from Copenhagen
Hans Christian Andersen’s home is worth a visit and travel
time by car from Copenhagen will be approx 1½ hours and by
train directly to Odense about 1.hour and 50 min.
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