Visiting a Magical World of the famous storyteller's Homeland in Scandinavia
Looking at my reflection, I seem to have on huge golden pantaloons, perceptible only to me. Youngsters relax in a water feature acting as ocean creatures, while in the next room rests a speaking vegetable in a exhibition box, alongside a towering pile of cushions. This is the world of H.C. Andersen (1805-1875), among the nineteenth-century's most beloved storytellers. I’m in the city of Odense, located on Fyn in the south of the Danish kingdom, to discover the writer's lasting influence in his native city 150 years after his demise, and to experience a few magical stories of my own.
The Exhibition: H.C. Andersen's House
Andersen's House is the local cultural center honoring the storyteller, incorporating his childhood house. A curator notes that in previous versions of the museum there was little focus on the author's tales. Andersen's biography was studied, but The Little Mermaid were nowhere to be found. For guests who come to Odense looking for fairytale wonder, it was a little lacking.
The renovation of Odense city centre, diverting a major road, made it possible to rethink how the city’s most famous son could be honored. A major architecture competition granted the architects from Japan the Kengo Kuma team the project, with the innovative curatorial vision at the center of the design. The remarkable timber-clad museum with interwoven spiral spaces launched to significant attention in 2021. “We’ve tried to build a place where we don’t talk about the writer, but we speak in the manner of Andersen: with wit, irony and perspective,” explains the curator. The landscape design follow this philosophy: “It’s a garden for explorers and for colossal creatures, it's created to create a feeling of diminutiveness,” he says, a goal accomplished by strategic landscaping, playing with elevation, scale and multiple meandering routes in a surprisingly compact space.
The Writer's Legacy
The author penned several memoirs and frequently provided conflicting accounts. The exhibition takes this approach fully; often the perspectives of his friends or snippets of written messages are displayed to subtly challenge the his narrative of events. “The author is the narrator, but he’s not reliable,” explains the expert. The effect is a compelling swift exploration of his personal story and work, mental approaches and best-loved tales. This is provocative and whimsical, for adults and youngsters, with a extra lower-level fantasy realm, the fictional village, for the children.
Exploring Odense
In the actual city, the modest urban center of the municipality is delightful, with cobbled streets and historic timber buildings painted in vibrant hues. The Andersen legacy is everywhere: the road indicators display the writer with his iconic formal headwear, metal shoe prints offer a free guided stroll, and there’s a art walk too. Annually in August this commitment reaches its height with the yearly HC Andersen festival, which celebrates the his influence through art, dance, stage shows and music.
During my visit, the week-long festival had numerous performances, many were complimentary. During my time in the city, I encounter painted stilt-walkers, fantastical beings and an Andersen lookalike narrating adventures. I experience feminist spoken-word pieces and see an remarkable nocturnal display including graceful performers coming down from the city building and dangling from a mechanical arm. Still to come during the season are lectures, hands-on activities and, expanding the oral history beyond Andersen, the city’s regular Magic Days festival.
All good enchanted locations require a palace, and Fyn boasts numerous historic homes and estates throughout the region
Pedaling Through History
As in other Danish regions, bicycles are the best way to get about in the city and a “bike path” curves through the city centre. From Hotel Odeon, I ride to the free harbour-side swimming pool, then out of town for a circuit around Stige Island, a compact territory linked by a road to the mainland. City residents picnic here in the evening, or take pleasure in a tranquil moment catching fish, water sports or swimming.
In Odense, I dine at a local eatery, where the menu is derived from the writer's motifs and stories. The verse the patriotic piece is highlighted when I visit, and proprietor Nils Palmqvist reads extracts, rendered in English, as he introduces the meal. Such encounters repeated often in my visit, the fynbo love a yarn and it appears sharing tales is continuously available here.
Historic Estate Tours
Each wonderful enchanted locations need a fortress, and Fyn contains 123 castles and stately homes around the area. Traveling briefly from the city, I visit the historic fortress, Europe’s most intact moated palace. Despite parts are available for tours, Egeskov is also the private residence of Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille and his spouse, the royal resident. I ponder if she might sense a tiny vegetable through a mound of {mattresses
