Andersen years. Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen is an outstanding Danish writer and poet, as well as an author of the world famous fairy tales for children and adults.

He is the author of such brilliant works as " Ugly duck”,“ The King’s New Dress ”,“ Thumbelina ”,“ Persistent tin soldier”,“ The Princess and the Pea ”,“ Ole Lukoye ”,“ The Snow Queen" and many others.

Many animated and feature films have been shot based on Andersen's works.

In this we have collected the most interesting facts from the life of the great storyteller.

So in front of you short biography Hans Andersen.

Biography of Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen was born on April 2, 1805 in the Danish city of Odense. Hans was named after his father, who was a shoemaker.

His mother, Anna Marie Andersdatter, was a poorly educated girl who worked all her life as a laundress. The family lived very poorly and barely made ends meet.

An interesting fact is that Andersen's father sincerely believed that he belonged to a noble family, since his mother told him about this. In fact, everything was quite the opposite.

To date, biographers have established for sure that the Andersen family came from the lower class.

However, this social status did not prevent Hans Andersen from becoming a great writer. Love for the boy was instilled in his father, who often read him fairy tales from different authors.

In addition, he periodically went to the theater with his son, accustoming him to high art.

Childhood and youth

When the young man was 11 years old, trouble happened in his biography: his father died. Andersen took his loss very hard, and for a long time was in a depressed state.

Studying at school also became a real test for him. He, as well as other students, was often beaten with rods by teachers for the slightest violations. For this reason, he became a very nervous and vulnerable child.

Hans soon persuaded his mother to drop out of school. After that, he began attending a charity school attended by children from poor families.

Having received basic knowledge, the young man got a job as an apprentice at a weaver. After that, Hans Andersen sewed clothes, and later worked in a tobacco factory.

An interesting fact is that while working at the factory, he had practically no friends. His colleagues mocked him in every possible way, releasing sarcastic jokes in his direction.

Once, Andersen's pants were lowered in front of everyone in order to allegedly find out what gender he was. And all because he had a high and sonorous voice, similar to a woman's.

After this incident, hard days came in Andersen's biography: he finally withdrew into himself and stopped communicating with anyone. At that point in time, Hans' only friends were wooden dolls, which his father had made for him a long time ago.

At the age of 14, the young man went to Copenhagen, because he dreamed of fame and recognition. It is worth noting that he did not have an attractive appearance.

Hans Andersen was a thin teenager with long limbs and the same long nose. However, despite this, he was accepted into the Royal Theater, in which he played supporting roles. Interestingly, in given period he began to write his first works.

When the financier Jonas Collin saw his play on stage, he fell in love with Andersen.

As a result, Collin convinced King Frederik VI of Denmark to pay for the education. promising actor and writer at the expense of the state treasury. After that, Hans was able to study at the elite schools of Slagels and Elsinore.

It is curious that Andersen's fellow students were students who were 6 years younger than him in age. The most difficult subject for the future writer was grammar.

Andersen made a lot of spelling mistakes, for which he constantly heard reproaches from teachers.

Andersen's creative biography

Hans Christian Andersen is best known as children's writer. More than 150 fairy tales came out from his pen, many of which have become classics of world significance. In addition to fairy tales, Andersen wrote poetry, plays, short stories and even novels.

He didn't like being called a children's writer. Andersen has repeatedly stated that he writes not only for kids, but also for adults. He even ordered that there should not be a single child on his monument, although initially he was supposed to be surrounded by children.

Monument to Hans Christian Andersen in Copenhagen

It is worth noting that serious works, like novels and plays, were quite difficult for Andersen, but fairy tales were written surprisingly easily and simply. At the same time, he was inspired by any objects that were around him.

Andersen's works

Over the years of his biography, Andersen wrote many fairy tales in which one can trace. Among such fairy tales, one can single out "Flint", "Swineherd", "Wild Swans" and others.

In 1837 (when he was assassinated), Andersen published the collection Tales Told to Children. The collection immediately gained great popularity in society.

It is interesting that, despite the simplicity of Andersen's fairy tales, each of them has a deep meaning with philosophical overtones. After reading them, the child can independently understand morality and draw the right conclusions.

Andersen soon wrote the fairy tales "Thumbelina", "The Little Mermaid" and "The Ugly Duckling", which are still loved by children all over the world.

Later, Hans wrote the novels "Two Baronesses" and "To Be or Not to Be", designed for an adult audience. However, these works went unnoticed, since Andersen was perceived primarily as a children's writer.

by the most popular fairy tales Andersen are considered "The King's New Dress", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "Thumbelina", "The Princess and the Pea", "Ole Lukoye" and "The Snow Queen".

Personal life

Some biographers of Andersen suggest that the great storyteller was not indifferent to the male sex. Such conclusions are drawn on the basis of the surviving romantic letters that he wrote to men.

It is worth noting that officially he was never married and had no children. In his diaries, he later admitted that he had decided to abandon intimate relationships with women, because they did not reciprocate his feelings.

Hans Christian Andersen reading a book to children

In the biography of Hans Andersen, there were at least 3 girls for whom he felt sympathy. Even at a young age, he fell in love with Riborg Voigt, but never dared to confess his feelings to her.

The next beloved of the writer was Louise Collin. She turned down Andersen's proposal and married a wealthy lawyer.

In 1846, there was another passion in Andersen's biography: he fell in love opera singer Jenny Lind, who charmed him with her voice.

After her speeches, Hans gave her flowers and recited poetry, trying to achieve reciprocity. However, this time he failed to win a woman's heart.

Soon the singer married a British composer, as a result of which the unfortunate Andersen fell into depression. An interesting fact is that later Jenny Lind will become the prototype of the famous Snow Queen.

Death

At the age of 67, Andersen fell out of bed and received many serious bruises. Over the next 3 years, he suffered from his injuries, but was never able to recover from them.

Hans Christian Andersen died on August 4, 1875 at the age of 70. Great storyteller He was buried in the Assistance Cemetery in Copenhagen.

Andersen's photo

At the end you can see the most famous Andersen. I must say that Hans Christian was not distinguished by an attractive appearance. However, under his clumsy and even ridiculous appearance was an incredibly refined, deep, wise and loving person.

Andersen's house in Odense

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Most of us know the name of Hans Christian Andersen from childhood. He said about his life that it was wonderful and beautiful, that even if in childhood, the years of disaster for the family, the Good Fairy offered him to choose a life for himself, anyway, the chosen one would not have been better lived.

Who was Andersen? Outwardly, he was an ungainly tall man with a disproportionate long arms and legs, with a funny gait that led the boys to give him the nicknames "stork" and "lamppost." The life of Hans Christian Andersen is unusual for a great man. He was born in the family of a shoemaker and a laundress in the provincial Danish town of Odense in 1805. Fairy tale and fantasy always lived in this family. His father not only read him fairy tales from the Thousand and One Nights from infancy, he also told the boy that royal blood flows in his veins. Most likely, it was a fantasy, which Hans Christian sincerely believed, written by him personally, claimed that Prince Frits was his only childhood friend.) However, we are talking about a mysterious person. Who knows when the stories of a man who knows how to light children's eyes became a fairy tale, and when a reality? The fact remains that after the death of King Frederick VII (this name Frits received at the coronation), the only person admitted to the coffin, except for the family, was Andersen.

The biography of Hans Christian Andersen is illuminated by love for the theater. His favorite game was a home puppet theater, where the "actors" were home-made wooden puppets with clothes sewn from patchwork. The boy came up with more and more performances for them. But Hans learned to write and read only at the age of 10. This was preceded next story. When his father sent him a few years earlier to study with the widow of a glover, she somehow (as was customary in the 18th century) punished him with rods. He did not tolerate violence. Hans, taking the primer under his arm, sedately, with his head held high, left the house of the tormentor forever.

The trouble came to the family when Andersen was 11 years old - his father died suddenly. The child had to go to work to feed his family: first as an apprentice in a cloth factory, then in a tobacco factory.

The further biography of Hans Christian Andersen again becomes like a fairy tale. As his mother later recalled, one fortune-teller in her presence, predicting the fate of her son, reported fame, a monument during her lifetime. Somehow, a puppet theater that arrived in the town needed an episodic actor-extra to play the role of a coachman. Hans gladly took advantage of this opportunity. Giving homemade puppet shows in the wealthy houses of Odense, he enlisted the colonel in order to realize his dream - to become an actor at the Royal Theater. Having bought boots with the money he earned, the fourteen-year-old Andersen went to Copenhagen. His mother allowed him to leave, hoping that Hans would return soon, because they had neither relatives nor acquaintances in the capital. Having told him about this, she asked the question: “Why are you going?” To this, the teenager answered succinctly and exhaustively: “To become famous!”

The dream came true: at first, out of pity, and also thanks to the "theatrical" voice, the boy was accepted to episodic roles. When Hans turned into a young man, and his voice "broke", disappointment awaited him - dismissal from the theater due to futility. But he was already noticed, thanks to an unusual fantasy. An acquaintance from the theater, the poet Ingeman, revealed the essence of Hans Christian Andersen's talent - to be able to see for himself and show his readers "pearls in the gutter." The talented boy was noticed and, upon a satisfied request to King Frederick VI, they were given the opportunity to get an education for a state kosht. Hans was now well fed, clothed, and had a roof over his head. But the clumsy young man, chronically “not friendly” with grammar, was constantly criticized by teachers and fellow students who were six years younger. The great storyteller wrote like this from until the end of his days!

The biography of Hans Christian Andersen as a writer begins at the age of 25, after the publication of a fantastic adventure story romantic hero while sailing through the canals. Two years later, having received the royal award, Hans Christian Andersen receives a powerful stream of impressions while traveling around Europe. Two years later, in 1835, he finally gives up trying to write plays and creates the first cycle of his fairy tales.

The Danes were delighted and surprised. Many were perplexed: how could an ordinary person create such a miracle? After all, such stories can only be told by Ole Lukoya, who is able to hear words, catch thoughts rose bush, talk to little Thumbelina. The second cycle was published by him three years later. When asked by journalists about where he draws stories from, Andersen was usually surprised and asked if they themselves did not notice anything. After all, if you take a good look and listen, then every fence, every wild flower wants to tell his story. Being famous, the writer nevertheless tried to return to the path of a theatrical playwright. However, the attempt did not bring him success. In 1845 he created the third cycle of fairy tales.

Think about it, is it not a miracle - a single person is given to create folklore whole country and generously give it to your homeland?! His "The Snow Queen", "The Little Mermaid", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "Thumbelina", "The Princess and the Pea" are known all over the world.

The biography of Hans Christian Andersen is life in a fairy tale. After his death in 1875, handwritten sheets with a new, practically written magical story were found under his pillow by friends.

And the main symbol of the country is the Little Mermaid - the heroine of the fairy tale of the great storyteller.

Denmark (official name –Kingdom of Denmark) is the southernmost of the Scandinavian countries.
From the south it borders on land with Germany. It is separated from Norway by the Skagerrak Strait, and from Sweden by the Kattegat and Öresund Straits. Denmark includes the world's largest island of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. But self-government operates in these territories, which gives them the opportunity to be practically independent.

State symbols of Denmark

Flag- a red rectangular panel with the image of a white Scandinavian cross (a straight cross, the vertical cross of which is shifted to the pole edge of the panel). The ratio of the flag's width to its length is 28:37.
The Danish flag is Dannebrog..
It follows from the legend that in 1219, with the blessing of the Pope, the army of the Danish king Valdemar II(Winner) landed near Kolyvan(modern Tallinn) under the pretext of Christianization. June 15 1219 detachments of Estonians attacked the Danish army, which was led by the king and bishops. The Danish troops began to retreat. Then the bishops went up the hill and began to ask God for help. Suddenly, a large red banner with a straight white cross descended from heaven - the Danes took it as a sign of help, perked up and defeated the pagans.
Victory Day at Kolyvan (or the Battle of Valdemar) is celebrated as Dannebrog's birthday.

Coat of arms- consists of three blue leopard lions and 9 red hearts on a golden shield. Above the coat of arms is crowned with a royal crown. In its modern form, it was adopted in 1972.
- the shield of the coat of arms is divided into 4 parts, the division is made not with the help of lines, but with the help of a cross. In two quarters, the images are the same as on the coat of arms of the country (blue lions and red hearts). The shield with two red stripes in the center is the symbol of Oldenburg (Germany, Lower Saxony), the former possession of the Danish kings. There are only two lions in the right (from the viewer) upper quarter of the lion. This is the symbol of Schleswig - now for the most part located in Germany (Schleswig-Holstein), but in the past belonged to Denmark.

The three golden crowns symbolize Kalmar Union- the unification of Denmark, Norway (with Iceland) and Sweden (with Finland) into a single state under the supreme authority of the Danish kings. The shields are held by two "forest people" - they are taken from the coat of arms of Prussia, whose lands were partially disputed by Denmark. The silver ram under the squid crowns represents the Faroe Islands, which remain under Danish rule.
The silver polar bear is the symbol of Greenland. The coat of arms is decorated with the Order of the Elephant (the memory of the fact that the Danes killed a war elephant in one of the crusades of the XII century) and the Order of the Dannebrog.

Brief information about the country

Political system- a constitutional monarchy.
head of state- king (queen). The king exercises legislative power together with the unicameral parliament (Folketing).
Head of the government- Prime Minister.
The king (queen) is supreme commander armed forces Denmark and head of the official state church.

Administrative division– 5 large administrative regions: Capital, Zeeland (or Seland), North Jutland, Central Jutland and South Denmark.
Official language- Danish. German is spoken on the border with Germany. Many speak English well.
Capital– Copenhagen.
Largest cities– Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense.
State religion- Lutheranism. 84.3% of Danes are members of the state Danish Folk Church, which belongs to Lutheranism. The rest profess other denominations of Christianity.
Territory- 43,094 km². The territory of the country includes the large peninsula of Jutland and 409 islands of the Danish archipelago, among which the most famous are Zeeland, Fyn, North Jutland, Lolland, Falster and Bornholm.
Population– 5 587 085 people
Currency- Danish krone.
Climate- temperate, maritime.
Economy is an industrial-agrarian country with high level development. The share of industry in the national income is more than 40%. The country ranks first in the world in terms of foreign trade turnover per capita.
Education Compulsory schooling consists of three parts: preparatory class (one year), basic school(nine years) and additional class for those planning to continue their studies at a gymnasium or at preparatory courses for university applicants. There are public, private and partially publicly funded schools in Denmark. Most of the children study in public schools.

Higher education institutions: Universities, specialized higher schools and colleges and technical institutes. The University of Copenhagen was founded in 1479. Since 1916, the Department of Theoretical Physics of the University of Copenhagen was headed by one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century. Niels Bohr, in 1920 he founded the Institute for Theoretical Physics, later named Bohr. Before World War II, Denmark was one of the world's centers for the study of atomic physics.

Culture of Denmark

Denmark's most famous ancient writer is the chronicler Saxo Grammaticus(c. 1140 - c. 1216). He received his nickname in recognition of his stylistic skill. Saxo Grammaticus created a 16-volume chronicle "Acts of the Danes" who recounted the ancient sagas. One of the motives of the chronicle used Shakespeare for the tragedy of Hamlet.
Very little is known about the personality of Saxo the Grammar. Directly in the "Acts of the Danes" it is said that his father and grandfather served in the army of King Valdemar I, and he himself was in the service, but not military, with Valdemar II. Saxo's Latin writing style suggests that he was educated outside of Denmark, most likely in France.
There is an assumption that Saxon was for some time the secretary and confidant of Bishop Absolon (Avessalom), a well-known church figure in Denmark in the second half of the 12th century.
Denmark is home to one of the most famous storytellers Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875).

Other notable Danish writers: Søren Kierkegaard, Martin Andersen-Neksø, Peter Høeg.
The first Danish musicians were skalds. Skaldic poetry has a deliberately sophisticated form and often very poor content. The skaldic tradition developed by the first half of the 9th century. It persisted steadily for about two hundred years after the introduction of writing in Iceland, decomposing extremely slowly under the influence of European written literatures. Skald is an Old Norse poet and singer. Skalds lived mainly at the courts and squads of the kings and worked in the period from the 9th to the 14th centuries. The main genre of their poetry was drape(a battle song that glorified the exploits of the king, his squads and expressed heroic ideals). Per good work the skald could get a fortune. Poetry for skalds is a way of stating facts, skalds could only report the facts that they witnessed. The content of their poems is not chosen by them, but dictated by reality. Concepts " fiction” did not yet exist, for a person of the Viking Age it would be indistinguishable from a lie. Therefore, the function of skaldic poetry was fundamentally different from the modern idea of ​​literary creativity.
Dietrich Buxtehude- an outstanding Danish composer, greatest representative baroque music.
largest contemporary pianist –W. Schöler.
First Danish motion picture appeared in 1897 - "Journey to Greenland on a team with dogs." Famous film directors Carl Theodor Dreyer (1889-1968), Bille August (born 1948), Lars von Trier (born 1956).

Landmarks of Denmark

In the era Vikings(Vikings - early medieval, mainly Scandinavian sailors, who made sea trips in the VIII-XI centuries). Basically, these were free peasants who lived on the territory of modern Scandinavia, they left their native countries as a result of overpopulation and a thirst for easy money. Religiously, they were mostly pagans) the fortresses of Trelleborg, Aggersborg and Fyrkat were created.

- now it is the southernmost city in Sweden on the Baltic Sea, the center of the commune of the same name. The first mention of it dates back to 1257. In 1260, King Eric IV of Denmark presented Trelleborg and Malmö to King Valdemar I of Sweden as a dowry to Eric's daughter Sophia, who married Valdemar. However, soon Trelleborg, like the entire province of Skåne, returned to Denmark. Lost the status of the city and again acquired it.

The main attraction of the city is church of st. Nicholas, built by the architect Zettervall in 1881-1883. on the site of a medieval church.

Ancient churches and cathedrals in Denmark

Since the X century. in Denmark, wooden ones were built, and from the 11th century. - stone basilicas(the main type of Christian churches). The most famous cathedrals are in Viborg and Riba.

The two towers of the cathedral are visible from afar. Archaeological excavations have shown that on the site of the current cathedral, since 1130, there was a church. From the original building, only the crypt has survived, and the modern appearance of the cathedral is a 19th-century project. This is one of the largest granite churches in Northern Europe.

Church of the Virgin in the Romanesque style, crowned with five towers. Its construction began thanks to the activities of King Valdemar I and Archbishop Absalon. The church is believed to have been built c. 1170 by Absalon's brother Esbern Snare.

Cathedral in Roskilde

The main cathedral of Denmark, the tomb of the Danish kings. A striking example of brick Gothic. Introduced in 1995 by UNESCO to the World Heritage List.
Already at the beginning of the Middle Ages, the cathedral was one of the most famous churches in Denmark and served as the cathedral of the diocese of the island of Zeeland, and since 1923 - the diocese of Roskilde.
Before the Reformation, which began in Denmark in 1536, the cathedral was Catholic. After the Reformation, the side altars were removed. Since that time, all Danish kings and almost all Danish queens have been buried in the cathedral and the royal chapels attached to it. The cathedral also has several burials dating back to the Middle Ages. In total, there are 39 graves in the cathedral. By will last king Frederick IX and his wife Ingrid built a mausoleum for them outside the walls of the cathedral.

The Church of Our Lady is unusual in architecture - a stepped facade, a turret with an onion-shaped dome on one side and high tower with a baroque spire - on the other. The church was built in 1388-1428, after the Reformation, it was partially rebuilt, the towers appeared in 1600. In 1871, the later extensions were dismantled, and now the church looks something like it did before the Reformation.

Castles in Denmark

Castle (more precisely, a palace) in the town of Hillerod. It was built for King Christian IV and currently operates as the Museum of National History.
The first castle on the site of Frederiksborg was built in 1560. King Frederik II and received the name Hilerodsholm from the name of the city nearby.

The castle is located in Helsingor (Elsinore), where Shakespeare placed the action of the play "Hamlet". Kronborg is a castle on the northeastern tip of the island of Zealand. In this place, the width of the Øresund Strait between Denmark and Sweden is only 4 km, which gave the castle an important military and strategic importance for a long time. On November 30, 2000, Kronborg was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the most significant Renaissance castles in Northern Europe.

Sights of Copenhagen

A statue depicting a character from the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen is located in the port of Copenhagen. The sculpture is 1.25 m high and weighs about 175 kg.
The author is a Danish sculptor Edward Eriksen. open August 23, 1913 The statue was commissioned by the son of the founder of the Carlsberg brewery, Carl Jacobsen, who was fascinated by the ballet based on the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" at the Royal Theater in Copenhagen.
The Little Mermaid has become one of the most famous characters Copenhagen and a world-famous tourist attraction, as evidenced by the fact that many cities have replicas of the statue. The Little Mermaid has been repeatedly vandalized from the mid-1960s to different reasons, but each time was restored.

Tivoli Park

The famous amusement park in the center of Copenhagen. One of the oldest parks in Denmark. Founded by a Danish officer Georg Carstensen, open in 1843. Now the park is one of the most visited in Scandinavia and the third in Europe, behind Disneyland Paris and the German Europa-Park.

The Royal Palace is the official residence and residence of the Danish royal family. The castle got its name from the wife of Frederick III, Queen Sophia Amalia, who 1673. built a palace on this site called Sophie Amalienborg, which burned down in a fire in 1689.
Ensemble architect - Nicholas Eitved. The castle consists of four separate buildings with almost identical rococo facades (the buildings also differ in the number of chimneys), which, together with the outbuildings, frame an octagonal square, in the middle of which rises equestrian statue Frederick V as a Roman emperor French sculptor's work Jacques Saly.

The ensemble was founded at the direction of King Frederick V on the 300th anniversary of the coronation of Christian I, the ancestor of the Oldenburg royal dynasty.
Amalienborg became a royal residence after the fire of Christiansborg Palace in February 1794.

Copenhagen Zoo

Founded in 1859 and is one of the oldest zoos in Europe. Copenhagen Zoo was founded by an ornithologist Niels Kjerbölling in 1859. The first animals introduced to zoos were eagles, chickens, ducks, owls, rabbits, foxes, seals and turtles.

Copenhagen Zoo is the only zoo outside of Australia to keep Tasmanian devil(mammal of the carnivorous marsupial family). Its black coloration, huge mouth with sharp teeth, ominous night cries and ferocious temper gave the first European settlers reason to call this stocky predator "devil". It also contains rare species like the Far Eastern leopard and the Amur tiger.

The former residence of the Danish kings, built by order of King Christian IV on the outskirts of Copenhagen in 1606-1624.
The building was designed by a Fleming in the Renaissance style of his homeland. Around the castle was laid out the Royal Garden, which is visited annually by 2.5 million tourists. This is the most popular park in the Danish capital.
In 1710, the Danish king Frederik IV left Rosenborg Castle with his family. Since then, the Danish kings have returned to the castle only twice: during the rebuilding of the burned-out Christiansborg and during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. Since 1838, Rosenborg Castle has been open to the public.

Danish National Museum

The largest museum of the history of culture. Presents the history of Danish and foreign cultures, contains exhibits from all over the world: from Greenland to South America. The museum exhibits archeology, ethnology, numismatics, ethnography, natural sciences, communications, construction, antiques of churches in Denmark.

New Carlsberg Glyptothek

Art Museum. Founded in the 19th century by the son of the founder of the Carlsberg breweries - Carl Jacobsen(1842-1914). The museum's collection originated from Jacobsen's private collection. Works of art on display at the New Glyptothek ancient egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome. One of the richest Etruscan collections outside of Italy.
On the lower floor there is an extensive collection of sculptures, among them about thirty works. Rodin. This is the most significant collection of his sculptures outside of France. The museum also has bronze sculptures. Degas, including a series of dancers, and great amount works of Danish and Norwegian sculptors. On the upper floors Impressionist paintings on display Manet, Pissarro, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, post-impressionists Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard and Gauguin. The Glyptotek contains about 50 works by Gauguin. The works of the artists of the Golden Age of Danish painting are also widely represented. Of interest is the museum building itself with a winter garden in the center.

Christiansborg (palace)

Danish castle with 1167., then the royal palace, and after 1849. until now - the building of the Danish parliament Folketing. Located in the old part of Copenhagen, on the small island of Slotsholmen. It is one of the architectural landmarks of the Danish kingdom. It was rebuilt several times, subjected to destruction and restoration.

State Museum of Arts

The museum contains collections of works of art dating back to the 12th century. Presented works Mantegna, Titian, Tintoretto, Brueghel, Rubens, Hals and Rembrandt. Collection of contemporary art from works Picasso, Braque, Léger, Matisse, Modigliani and Nolde. Paintings, sculptures, installations and other works by Danish authors are widely represented.

Danish Museum of Modern Art, 20 km south of Copenhagen. Opened in 1996 Building architect - Soren Robert Lunn. It houses the works of contemporary Danish, Scandinavian and foreign authors.

An observatory as part of a complex of university buildings, which was erected in the parish of the Copenhagen Trinity Church by order of King Christian IV in the middle 17th century Building work (1637-1642) oversaw Steenwinkel the Younger. The observatory in the tower is one of the oldest in Europe. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. astronomers worked here Ole Römer and Peder Horrebow. Over time, the tower has become one of the symbols of the Danish capital. In Andersen's fairy tale "The Flint" it is said that the largest dog has eyes as large as the Round Tower. Now the observatory has an amateur status.

Also known as marble church- Lutheran Church, one of the attractions of Copenhagen. The project of the building was created by the architect Nikolai Eigtved in 1740. The church was unfinished for almost 150 years. Was opened on August 19 1894

One of the residences owned by the Danish royal family. It is located in the central part of the Danish capital. The building currently houses art Gallery and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.

A building built by grateful compatriots in Copenhagen, which serves as a repository for many of the works of Thorvaldsen, one of the most significant representatives of the style late classicism in sculpture.

Bertel Thorvaldsen(1770-1844) - Danish artist, sculptor, the brightest representative of late classicism. Thorvaldsen was one of the most prolific sculptors in the history of art. Almost all of his best works are based on antique subjects. It seemed to contemporaries that it was he who was able to feel and recreate the essence of the classical art of Greece and Rome. Idealized portrait busts of Thorvaldsen were in demand throughout Europe: (a bust of Alexander I, numerous representatives of the aristocracy of various states (including Russian). Thorvaldsen is also the author of monuments to Jozef Poniatowski in Warsaw, N. Copernicus in Warsaw, J. Byron in Cambridge, Schiller in Stuttgart, he developed biblical and Christian themes.

Island in the Øresund Strait. It is located to the east of the Danish island of Amager. It is 7 km long and 3 km wide. The vegetation of Saltholm is dominated mainly by grasses that form meadows. The island is the largest Danish geese pasture, with around 7,000 visiting it during the summer. About 3,500 young swans live on the island in the summer and about 2,000 remain for the winter. Ducks also live here (10-12 thousand). Saltholm is also home to Europe's largest eider colony: 15,000 live on the island in the spring.
Saltholm is a protected nature reserve for wild birds that in large numbers nest on the island.

Pier, promenade and park with a length of about 1.8 km in the center of Copenhagen. Here are the Anglican Church of St. Alban, the Museum of the Liberation of Denmark, the Gefion Fountain, a monument to the dead Danish sailors and the Little Mermaid. It is a popular place for excursions and walks. Most cruise ships calling at Copenhagen land here. Fountain Gefion decorates sculptural composition, depicting the Scandinavian fertility goddess Gefion with four bulls.

royal garden

The oldest and most visited park in Copenhagen. was laid in 1606. by order of King Christian IV, simultaneously with the start of construction of Rosenborg Castle.

Sights of the city of Odense

This is the city of Andersen: here he was born and lived. On the central square cities are monuments to Andersen and Saint Canute, the town hall and the Cathedral of St. Knud - the Danish king, who, along with his brother, was killed by the rebellious nobility at the beginning of the 11th century. under the roof of the church of St. Alban. After this terrible bloodshed, a series of misfortunes befell Denmark - crop failure, famine, unrest of the masses.

Canute was canonized after eyewitnesses discovered the miraculous power emanating from his remains. Today the cathedral is the main place of pilgrimage and the most beautiful Gothic cathedral in Denmark.
In the Andersen Park on the Odenet River "floats" Paper boat, on which the steadfast tin soldier traveled. The house where the writer spent his childhood has been preserved.

In the picture: The house where Andersen lived as a child

Children under 16 can enter the Andersen Museum free of charge. His manuscripts and personal belongings are kept here, as well as various illustrations for fairy tales and books published in different countries.

On the outskirts of Odense, in the center of the lake, a majestic and incredibly beautiful castle rises Egeskov "Oak Forest". It received this name because it was built on a foundation of numerous oak trunks, vertically embedded in the bottom.

Attractions of the city of Aarhus

One of the finest cities in Denmark. The history of the city begins almost a thousand years ago.

Founded in 1875, it is located near the Old City. The area of ​​the garden is 21 hectares. The garden contains more than 1000 species of various plants. There are many plants from different climatic regions of the earth: oaks (cork, stone), rosemary, cistus, laurel. In tropical greenhouses, where humidity is maintained from 80-100%, creepers, ginger (various species), pumpkins, cardamom, vanilla, chili peppers, sago palms and many other plants are grown. Citrus fruits, pineapples, tree ferns, etc. are grown in a subtropical summer greenhouse.

The building was built in 1857. In the museum you can learn everything about Scandinavian women, from their way of life, life, traditions and ending with modern views on the life and work of women in the cultural history of Denmark. The museum has two permanent exhibitions: The Life of Women from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day and The Childhood Story of Girls and Boys.
The museum hosts temporary exhibitions, lectures, seminars, where only women are allowed to speak.

Marselisborg Palace

Summer royal residence. The history of the palace begins with 1661, when King Frederick III, in payment of a debt, transferred lands and lands to the Dutch merchant Gabriel Marselis. Due to the difficult financial situation of the family, the castle changed hands until the municipality of Aarhus acquired the residence in 1896. The mansion was restored by a famous Danish architect Jakom Kampmanni. The building is located in the middle of a beautiful flowering garden and green lawns. The approaches to the residence are decorated with statues that are carved from trees and stumps, the author of the statues was Jorn Ronnau.
In 1902, the local authorities gave the residence as a wedding gift to King Christian X and his wife Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. After the death of Queen Alexandrina in 1952, the castle was abandoned for fifteen years. In 1967 the Marselisborg mansion was restored. Currently, the castle serves as the royal summer residence. The changing of the guard near the castle takes place during summer holiday royal family. The palace is closed to the public, but the park is open to visitors when the royal family is not at the residence.

Aarhus Cathedral

Located on Cathedral Square. The temple was erected in honor of the patron saint of sailors - St. Clement, its full name is the Cathedral of St. Clement.
The history of the cathedral began at the end 12th century when the bishop Peder Vognsen decided to build a church. AT 1300 the construction of the Romanesque cathedral was completed. After 30 years, the cathedral burned down, and only in 1449 was rebuilt in the Gothic style.
The cathedral is one of the largest in Denmark: the height of the nave is 96 m, the height of the tower is 93 m, the inner hall can accommodate up to 1200 parishioners. During the fire, most of the interior decoration of the cathedral burned down, several frescoes with a total area of ​​​​220 sq.m. have survived to this day. Among these frescoes is one of the oldest - "Windows of Lazarus", dating from 1300

The largest theater in the city. Its construction began in 1897, the final finishing works of the building were completed two years later. The official opening of the theater took place on September 15, 1900. The theater has several stages, where a permanent troupe of professional actors works.

History of Denmark

Early history of Denmark

The first human traces in Denmark appeared about 100-70 thousand years ago. Approximately 3900 years BC. e. agriculture appeared on the territory of Denmark.

In the picture: Solar wagon
Archaeological find (solar wagon from Trundholm) belongs to the Scandinavian Bronze Age(1700-500 BC). At the end of the 1st century BC e. the Cimbri (a mixed tribe) and the Teutons (ancient Germanic tribes) lived on the territory of the Jutland Peninsula.
In the IV century. arrived in Denmark utes(Germanic tribe) and the Angles, and the Jutland peninsula was settled by those who came from the south of the Scandinavian Peninsula are given(an ancient Germanic tribe). Danes were united in tribal unions, by the beginning of the 9th century. they began to develop an early feudal structure of society, headed by leaders (konungs), below - tribal nobility and free communal peasants (bonds), who had the right to bear arms.

Vikings

The Danes were active participants in the Viking campaigns (from the end of the 8th to the 11th centuries). During this period, Iceland was mastered, and settlements were created in Greenland and North America (Vinland). The Hedeby settlement in southern Jutland became an important trading hub. The main direction of Danish campaigns was Great Britain and France.
The Christianization of Denmark began in 8th century, it is associated with the activities of the missionaries Willibrord and Ansgar. AT 960s years king Harald I Blue-tooth was baptized himself and made Christianity the state religion.

Middle Ages. Reformation

AT 1157 became king Valdemar I the Great, the period of strife has ended. He, his son Knud VI and grandson Waldemar II conquered Pomerania, Mecklenburg and Holstein. AT 1241. under Valdemar II, Danish law (Jutland law) was codified.
Beginning in the middle of the 13th century, the monarch was often forced to confront the nobility, who sought to limit the power of the king. Eric V in 1282 signed a charter that limited royal power, but four years later he was killed. For several years the Danish monarchy did not exist. And only Valdemar IV Atterdag accepted the so-called "Zemsky peace" - an agreement between the king and the estates, according to which the estates pledged to obey the king, and the king - to command the country, observing the law.
Valdemar IV's daughter Margrethe married the Norwegian king Haakon VI. After his death in 1380, the two monarchies became united, and then Margrethe was elected to the Swedish throne. This union is called Kalmar Union, led by Denmark, as a result of which the whole of Scandinavia was under the dominion of the Danish crown. But the union was fragile. FROM 1433 Copenhagen became the residence of the king.
In distribution Lutheranism Luther's associate played a decisive role in Denmark Hans Tausen. Lutheranism gained popularity among the lower strata, who paid more taxes in favor of catholic church, and caused unrest in several areas of Denmark. In a public debate held in 1530, Tausen won a landslide victory over the Catholic clergy. The next three years are known in historiography as the "Count's strife". The rebels called for the exiled Christian II, so the nobility and clergy were forced to elect Frederick's son Christian III as king, who made vague statements about future religious policy. August 6, 1536 took Copenhagen.

Pictured: Christian III
Having established himself as king, he secularized church lands and arrested Catholic bishops, who were declared guilty of unleashing civil war. On October 30, a law was passed that formalized the Reformation in Denmark.

new time

AT 1563 Danish king Frederik II began the seven-year northern war against Sweden. After that, until the XIX century. several more wars for hegemony in the region took place between the countries. Frederick II gained fame as a patron of sciences and arts, in 1576 he gave to the astronomer Tycho Brahe the island of Ven and funds for the construction of the observatory Uraniborg. Under Frederick III, Denmark became an absolute monarchy, the monarchy was declared hereditary, and not only nobles, but also people from the urban class began to be accepted to public office. Ruled in the 18th century Christian VII was considered an imbecile king. Under him, the queen recruits Struenze, who carries out positive reforms, improves the life of the people, but limits the rights of the nobles. As a result of a conspiracy of disgruntled aristocrats, he was executed, and the reforms were partially canceled.
In the end XVIII-early XIX in. Denmark was part of the armed neutrality initiated by the Russian Empire. The union broke up in 1801 after a defeat in a naval battle with the English fleet. AT 1807 Denmark has joined continental blockade which led to the Anglo-Danish war. King Frederick VI participated in Napoleonic Wars on the French side. Following the results of the Kiel peace treaties and Congress of Vienna Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden and the island of Heligoland to Great Britain. At the same time, Denmark retained Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein.
AT 1848. at Frederick VII The Danish constitution was drafted. the first half of XIX in. called the “golden age” of Denmark: during this period, outstanding figures of culture and science worked in the country: the sculptor Thorvaldsen, the artists Wilhelm Eckersberg and Christen Koebke, the physicist Hans Christian Oersted, the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, the writer Hans Christian Andersen.
But as a result of the war with Prussia (1864), Denmark lost Schleswig, Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg.

Denmark in the 20th century

FROM 1901 In Denmark, a system of parliamentarism began to take shape. AT 1903 Iceland received autonomy. In foreign policy Denmark has been neutral since 1864 and did not take part in the First World War. AT 1915 was accepted new constitution giving women the right to vote in elections. AT 1918. Iceland gained independence as the Kingdom of Iceland, which was in a personal union with Denmark.
In September 1939, Denmark signed a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany and declared its neutrality, but in April 1940 Germany occupied the country. The first years of the occupation regime were rather mild. But the resistance movement began to operate on the territory of the country, and in 1943, in response to this, the Nazis removed the coalition government from power, introduced a state of emergency and began persecuting the Jews. The reaction to the actions of the occupiers were mass protests, strikes and sabotage. AT 1944 declared sovereignty Iceland. May 5, 1945 Denmark was liberated by British troops. In 1945, Denmark joined the UN, and in 1949, NATO. AT 1953 was adopted in force on this moment constitution. Margrethe II became the first female monarch in 1972. In 1948, self-government was introduced in the Faroe Islands, and in 1979 in Greenland.

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Biography, life story of Andersen Hans Christian

The world-famous writer Hans Christian Andersen was born in Denmark in 1805 on April 2 on the island of Funen in the city of Odense. His father, Hans Andersen, was a shoemaker, and his mother, Anna Marie Andersdatter, worked as a laundress. Andersen was not a relative of the king, this is a legend. He himself invented that he was a relative of the king and as a child played with Prince Frits, who later became king. The source of the legend was Andersen's father, who told him many tales and told the boy that they were relatives of the king. The legend was maintained by Andersen himself all his life. Everyone believed in her so much that Andersen was allowed the only one, except for relatives, to the tomb of the king.

Andersen studied at a Jewish school, as he was afraid to go to a regular school where children were beaten. Hence his knowledge of Jewish culture and traditions. He grew up as a subtly nervous child. After his father's death in 1816, he had to earn a living by working as an apprentice. In 1819 he left for Copenhagen, having bought his first boots. He dreamed of becoming an artist and went to the theater, where he was taken out of pity, but then kicked out after breaking his voice. Working in the theater in the period 1819-1822, he received several lessons in German, Danish and Latin privately. He began to write tragedies and dramas. After reading his first drama, The Sun of the Elves, the directorate of the Royal Theater helped Andersen get a scholarship from the king to study at the gymnasium. He began to study at the gymnasium, where he was severely humiliated, since he was 6 years older than his classmates. Under the impression of studying at the gymnasium, he wrote famous poem"Dying Child" Andersen begged his trustee to take him out of the gymnasium, he was assigned in 1827 to a private school. In 1828, Hans Christian Andersen managed to enter the university in Copenhagen. He combined his studies at the university with the activities of a writer. He wrote a vaudeville which was staged at the Royal Theatre. In addition, the first romantic prose was written. With the fees received, Andersen went to Germany, where he met several interesting people and wrote many works under the impression of the trip.

CONTINUED BELOW

In 1833, Hans Christian made a gift to King Frederick - it was a cycle of his poems about Denmark, and after that he received a cash allowance from him, which he spent completely on a trip to Europe. Since then, he has traveled continuously and been abroad 29 times, and also lived outside Denmark for about ten years. Andersen met many writers and artists. While traveling, he drew inspiration for his work. He possessed the gift of improvisation, the gift of translating his impressions into poetic images. European fame brought him the novel "The Improviser", which was published in 1835. Then many novels, comedy, melodrama and fairy-tale plays were written, which had a long and happy fate: "Oile-Lukoil", "More expensive than pearls and gold" and "Elder Mother". Andersen gained worldwide fame for his fairy tales for children. The first collections of fairy tales were published in 1835-1837, then in 1840, a collection of fairy tales and short stories for children and adults was published. Among these fairy tales were "The Snow Queen", "Thumbelina", "The Ugly Duckling" and others.

In 1867, Hans Christian Andersen received the rank of councilor of state and the title of honorary citizen of his hometown of Odense. He was also awarded the Order of the Danebrog in Denmark, the Order of the White Falcon First Class in Germany, the Order of the Red Eagle Third Class in Prussia, and the Order of St. Olav in Norway. In 1875, by order of the king, it was announced on the writer's birthday that a monument to Andersen would be erected in Copenhagen in the royal garden. The writer did not like the models of several monuments where he was surrounded by children. Andersen did not consider himself a children's writer and did not appreciate his own fairy tales, but continued to write more and more. He never married, never had children. In 1872 he wrote his last Christmas story. This year, a misfortune happened to the writer, he fell out of bed and was badly injured. He was treated for this injury for the last three years of his life. He spent the summer of 1975 at his friends' villa, being seriously ill. On August 4, 1875, Andersen died in Copenhagen, the day of his funeral was declared a national day of mourning in Denmark. The funeral was attended by the royal family. In 1913, the famous monument to the Little Mermaid was erected in Copenhagen, which has since been considered a symbol of Denmark. In Denmark, two museums are dedicated to Hans Christian Andersen - in Ourense and Copenhagen. Hans Christian's birthday, April 2, has long been celebrated as International Children's Book Day. International Council for Children's Books, since 1956, awarded annually gold medal Hans Christian Andersen, which is the highest international award in contemporary children's literature.

On April 2, 1805, in the city of Odense, in a poor family of a shoemaker and a laundress, a boy was born, who many years later became a famous children's writer. Little Hans grew up as a very shy child. And after other children told how they beat people for disobedience in ordinary schools, he completely refused to join there. The persuasion of the mother, the cries of the father did not lead to anything. And then the son is given to a charity school.

Since childhood, Hans Christian was fond of puppet theater. He made dolls from all kinds of improvised materials and invited neighbor children to the performance. The boy's father did not live long, and the guy had to earn his living at an early age. First future writer works as a tailor's assistant, then fate brings him to a cigarette factory.

At the age of 14, the young man goes to conquer the capital of Denmark - Copenhagen. He dreams of becoming famous. He works there in the theater, but he is soon fired. Hans was not attractive in appearance and he did not get the main roles. But with the help of kind people, Hans enters a famous Danish school. Study was given to the guy is not very easy. He did not even fully master the letter. But this did not break him on the path to glory. In 1833, he published his first fantasy story, for which he received an award from the king himself. This inspires Andersen, and he decides to connect his life with literature. He begins to write all sorts of works, including a huge number of fairy tales that brought the author world fame.

Biography of Christian Andersen

The famous writer was born in Denmark on April 2, 1805. The boy's parents were ordinary workers, but nevertheless, his father's love for literature left its mark on the life of Hans. It was his father who taught the future prose writer and storyteller to read and write.

When his father died, Hans had no choice but to go to work and help his mother. While working with a tailor, one day he learned that a theater was coming to town. The writer tries himself in one of the roles where he did not have to say a word. This was enough for Andersen to fall in love with theatrical activities for life. He devotes time to writing lyrics, screenplays and plays. The theater management approved the young man's occupation and gave him a salary.

With the proceeds from the sale of a collection of his poems, the poet goes on a journey. His dream was to visit European countries, to master the culture of many cities. There he met many poets, writers and musicians, as a result of which many famous musical works were written specifically for his poems.

As you know, Hans Christian Andersen is one of the most famous storytellers. His journey begins in 1835, when fairy tales that are familiar to everyone today are published. He rewrote the plots of stories that his mother had once told him. And only later, a few years later, the writer publishes a collection of author's works. A certain style, which Andersen undoubtedly had, was not immediately appreciated. Only a few decades later, the tales of the famous prose writer and poet began to be read to children at night, and passed on from generation to generation. People began to understand that behind a beautiful plot and description of the characters, there is much more - meaning and morality.

AT family life the writer was less fortunate. He was never married and had no children either. The poet died of illness in his homeland in 1875, giving many children a wonderful childhood.

Biography of Hans Christian Andersen

The great Danish writer was born on April 2, 1805 in the city of Odense, which is located on the island of Funen. The future storyteller did not know a carefree childhood, because his father worked as a poor shoemaker, and his mother also received a penny for her work as a laundress. That is why the boy was observed increased emotionality and susceptibility. In addition, in those days in local schools, the use of physical punishment was in the order of things. Due to the fear of attending an educational institution, thanks to the decision of the mother, the teenager was sent to a charity school, where they did not raise a hand against children.

At the age of fourteen, Hans Christian, against the will of his parents, expressed a desire to go to Copenhagen. The young man's mother gave the go-ahead for his trip, pinning her hopes on her son's soon return. The guy left his family and native home quite early for the reason that he wanted to become famous.

The young man could not boast of a spectacular appearance due to his lankyness and the presence of thin elongated limbs, neck and even nose. However, they took pity on him and enrolled in the Royal Theater, where he got the opportunity to perform minor roles. In addition, the purposefulness of the guy did not go unnoticed. The environment of the poor and sensitive guy treated him well, as a result of which caring people petitioned the Danish king to provide the young man with an education.

With the consent of Frederick VI, Hans Christian first studied at the expense of the state treasury in Slagels, and later in Elsinore. The guy was 6 years older than the other students in the school. At the same time, the writer had rather gloomy memories of the period of study due to strict criticism of the rector of the gymnasium. Being under the negative impression of a difficult relationship with the head of the educational institution, Hans Christian wrote the poem "The Dying Child". And although the young man completed his studies at the gymnasium in 1827, he made many mistakes until the end of his life.

In 1829, a fantastic story of the writer was published under the title "Hiking Journey from the Holmen Canal to the Eastern End of Amager", which made him famous. Hans Christian then begins to actively engage in writing literary works. In 1835, work was completed on the Fairy Tales, which gained worldwide fame years later. Around the 1840s, Hans Christian did not find much success.

However, the published collection "A Picture Book without Pictures" confirmed his talent as an outstanding writer. In the second half of the 1840s, Hans Christian took up writing novels and plays. However, he was never destined to become a famous playwright and novelist. In 1871, the premiere of the first ballet based on the writer's fairy tales took place.

Over the years of his life, the famous writer never got a family with children. Hans Christian traveled a lot and visited not only many European countries, but also visited America and Morocco. In 1872, after falling out of bed, Hans Christian was severely injured, unable to fully recover later. Three years later, on August 4, 1875, the writer died in Copenhagen and was buried in the local cemetery.

Interesting facts and dates from life