Denmark's New Hans Christian Andersen Museum Is Where Fairy Tales Come Alive

If you don’t know Hans Christian Andersen from such fairy tales as The Ugly Duckling, The Princess and the Pea, and Thumbelina, surely you know him from the Disney films his works inspired, like The Little Mermaid, Frozen, and The Emperor’s New Groove. Now, the prolific children’s author, novelist, and poet has a compelling hometown museum deserving of his legacy.

The H.C. Andersen House, currently in a soft opening mode, is located in Odense, Andersen’s birthplace on the Danish island of Funen. At 18,000 square feet, it’s one of the largest and most ambitious museums in Denmark. For travelers wowed by Tivoli Gardens, the 19th-century theme park in Copenhagen where Andersen drew inspiration for The Nightingale, booking a side trip to the island where it all began makes good sense.

This isn’t the first museum dedicated to the fairy-tale spinner. Until 2017, Odense had a stodgy old museum that told Andersen's life story in a traditional way. The H.C. Andersen House is much more immersive: a subterranean museum that comes alive through color, texture, sound, and light. Designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma (whose architecture firm was behind the new Olympic stadium in Tokyo), the space masterfully blends the hallmarks of airy Danish architecture (curvaceous natural woods, floor-to-ceiling windows) with eye-catching art installations and labyrinthine gardens.

“We threw out the old museum rules,” says H.C. Andersen House creative director Henrik Lübker. “This museum had to inhabit Andersen. His work impacted everything from how you navigate the space to how we use text and objects.” That means no all-knowing curatorial voice. Instead, visitors hear from different characters, including the Little Mermaid and the Ugly Duckling, throughout the Hans Christian Andersen universe, and even Andersen himself. (Actor Simon McBurney plays Andersen in the English version.)

A dozen international artists—including writer Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket), composer Louise Alenius, paper artist Veronica Hodges, filmmaker Noah Harris, and puppet maker Andy Gent—worked on the immersive installations, weaving in first-edition books and many of Andersen’s personal effects, like a suitcase made for top hats and a rosary from Spain.

Andersen, one quickly learns, was a curious fellow. He wanted to be a ballet dancer but fell into writing. He was lanky and awkward, blustery and narcissistic; a talented collage artist, known for his paper cutting; and an adventurous world traveler who spent nearly a decade touring North Africa and Europe. The son of a shoemaker, he came from a poor family but desperately wanted to be part of high society. Andersen wrote many of his stories from guest rooms in Denmark’s grandest castles—a kind of fake-it-till-you-make approach to literary acclaim. His sexuality was voracious and fluid; he was a romantic at heart. Included in the collection is a rejection letter from the first woman he proposed to. When he died of pancreatic cancer in 1875, the letter was folded against his chest, along with a spray of dried flowers.

Andersen was also deeply paranoid, particularly of fire, and traveled from place to place with his own escape rope. He claimed he was in Italy when Mt. Vesuvius erupted; according to his telling of the day’s events, he was climbing up the hill, shoes on fire, while lava rolled down.

The H.C. Andersen House works hard to capture his creativity, playfulness, and gloomy hilarity for a broad audience. “Humor is kryptonite in most museums,” says Lübker, “but Andersen’s world was full of humor, so we embraced the levity.”

Even the gift shop reflects this, highlighting unique partnerships with Danish design brands. Bright spots include a clothing collaboration with streetwear brand Le Fix, wooden nightingales by artist Kay Bojesen, and a series of dandelion IPAs and jasmine beer from Mikkeller.

The museum cafe, Deijlig, is helmed by chef Tanja Weber and focuses on local, seasonal ingredients. (Think herring with raw egg yolk, horseradish, and wildflowers or a pastry filled with chanterelles, asparagus, and pea shoots.) A children’s center is slated to open later in August, with the epic gardens and building facade following in the autumn. (Like so many projects, the museum’s timeline was hampered by pandemic-related construction delays.) Admission will remain half price until the museum is fully up and running—until then, you’ll just have to use your imagination.

Where to eat, stay, and play in Funen

Funen, or Fyn as it’s called in Danish, is the third largest island in Denmark and a popular holiday destination for weekenders from Copenhagen and Aarhus. National rail company DSB makes it easy to hop from city to countryside; the express train from Copenhagen Central Station to Odense takes just 90 minutes. High season runs from May to October, though many of the island’s 123 castles and manors can be visited year-round. Funen is also a hub for vineyards and agriculture, with restaurants tending their own gardens and chefs flocking here to forage on the beach.

Hotel Odeon, a picture of Scandinavian minimalism, is a six-minute stroll from the Odense train station and a fine base for exploring Andersen’s birthplace. H.C. Andersen House is only three minutes by foot but the neighborhood invites meandering with its cobblestone laneways and blooming rose gardens. When hunger strikes, hoof it over to Storms Pakhus, the largest street food market in Odense. Once a warehouse for timber storage, it now houses 17 vendors slinging Hong Kong–style bao, Thai curries, and fresh-baked pitas.

Funen also has its own wine route; oenophiles won’t want to miss Stokkebye, a half hour east of Odense, and Skaarupøre Vingaard at the southern tip of the island. Stokkebye is a leader in organic wine, supplying bottles to Michelin-starred restaurants in Denmark and France. Skaarupøre, meanwhile, ages its biodynamic wines in barrels from Jutland and Portugal. Their German-style white, made with cold-climate Solaris grapes, is a must. For whiskey, gin, or rum, visit Nyborg Destilleri, a consistent sweeper of medals at international spirit competitions.

No visit to Funen is complete without working your way through the castle circuit. For the full fairy-tale experience, download the Hans Christian Andersen Trail app, which plots 15 castles and manors with a direct connection to Andersen. Or just head to two of his favorites: Broholm Castle in Gudme and Egeskov Slot near Kværndrup. The former dates to the 12th century and inspired Andersen's novel Only a Fiddler; travelers can still stay in one of the 19 rooms on the stately grounds. Built in 1554, Egeskov isn’t quite as old as Broholm, but the moated castle and prize-winning gardens enchanted Andersen and countless generations that followed. There’s even a treetop walk and several special interest museums on site, displaying everything from vintage motorbikes to hovercrafts.

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Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler