It’s almost as if a wizard cast a spell, and with a crackle and pop, the old town of Odense materialised, straight out of the pages of a storybook. Step into the historic quarter and you’ll be greeted by winding lanes paved with cobblestones, colourful timber-framed houses with chimneys, climbing ivy draping window frames, and wooden flower boxes bursting with bright red, pink, and yellow blooms. Little wonder that this surreal Danish town is the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen,
It’s almost as if a wizard cast a spell, and with a crackle and pop, the old town of Odense materialised, straight out of the pages of a storybook. Step into the historic quarter and you’ll be greeted by winding lanes paved with cobblestones, colourful timber-framed houses with chimneys, climbing ivy draping window frames, and wooden flower boxes bursting with bright red, pink, and yellow blooms. Little wonder that this surreal Danish town is the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen, one of the most celebrated fairy-tale authors in history.
Andersen passed away over 150 years ago, but walk through Odense and you’ll spot him everywhere: A bronze sculpture of the author sits on a bench in the city centre, happy to share space with you; the Steadfast Tin Soldier (a beloved character created by Andersen) stands at a street corner, while a stainless steel recreation of the Paper Boat that carried the love-struck soldier floats in the placid waters of Eventyrhaven (The Fairy Tale Garden). There’s also an endearing artwork of Thumbelina standing inside a gigantic flower, looking out at the old town in search of the swallow.
But if there’s one place where you can interact with the famed writer, it’s the H.C. Andersen Hus, a museum spread across a set of buildings. Opened in 2021, the museum spans a whopping 5,600 sq. metres of indoor space alone (plus large, verdant gardens), and within this space lies a parallel universe.
The unique architecture is combined with sounds, lights, and creative exhibits, offering a multisensory approach to Andersen’s most popular fairy tales.
The exhibit of ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ takes you right into the palace and has you pose before a large, ornate mirror. This magic mirror, backed by technology, superimposes the most lavish outfits onto your reflection; clothes fit for a King or Queen. But those viewing you from the other side of the same mirror see you just as you are. Even as you admire your embellished reflection, you can almost hear the little boy in the background screaming, “But he hasn’t got anything on!” The original tale makes you question vanity and your own perception of things. But in this tech-driven museum, you also begin to think about the lens of technology and how it adds an additional layer to what you see and perceive. Is ChatGPT a tool to assist you in gathering information and reaching your own conclusions, or does it sift through the data, present selective information, and control what you read?
You see a stack of mattresses reaching for the sky, all piled atop an antique four-poster bed frame. And you begin to wonder how the princess managed to climb to the top, with no ladder in sight. A smaller exhibit next to the bed reveals the pea. ‘The Princess and the Pea’ speaks of being sensitive as the Princess is left bruised by a tiny pea. But one look at the pea and the many mattresses, and the tale seems to poke fun at the fragility of the ruling class.
In today’s world, it almost speaks of how out of touch many politicians are with the suffering of the masses, or of the tendency of politicians to deflect attention from important matters by fixating on minuscule matters or non-issues.
Based on Andersen’s tale, ‘The Shadow’, there’s an exhibit where you stand facing your shadow, but soon the shadow takes a life of its own, much like in the storybook, leaving readers grappling with issues of identity. You can’t miss the ‘Little Mermaid’ exhibit, where the play of sound and light transports you underwater, swimming alongside the most magical beings. Somewhere along the way, the fairy stories pull you in and you become part of the tale, often rewriting Andersen’s script.
In the museum, you’re removed from reality, and yet you gain a whole new perspective on the real world. The museum may create illusions, but it also makes you question popular belief systems, while chipping away at many of them in the process.
The museum takes you through Andersen’s life — his letters reflect his romantic love for men and women, defying society’s notions of heterosexuality; you glimpse his poverty-stricken childhood, and his writing seems like a way for him to escape his reality while taking readers along on the journey; you see his portraits and wonder if ‘The Ugly Duckling’ reflected his own life story; you see everyday objects from his life: his travel gear, his original manuscripts, scribbled notes, creative paper cuttings that he enjoyed making, etc.
As you exit the museum, your self-guided tour ends where Andersen’s story began: at a warm yellow house with a tiled roof, Andersen’s childhood home. As you look around the modest home and reflect on the author’s story, you’ll likely be reminded of his quote: Every man’s life is a fairy tale written by God’s fingers.
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