Odense Travel Guide | Hans Christian Andersen House Denmark

Danish author and poet Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense in 1805, and the city is proud of its famous son, with a dedicated museum and his childhood home preserved for posterity. A new cultural centre called Fyrtojet (tinder box) brings his fairy tales to life, and there is a festival held in his honour in Funen village, usually in July or August. The composer Carl Nielsen was also a local lad, and has his own museum.

Odense Denmark Travel Guide

If Andersen could return today, he would recognize many buildings, including fine half-timbered houses and, of course, St Canute’s Cathedral, erected in brick on earlier foundations in the 13th century. This is one of the finest gothic buildingd in Denmark, named after the saintly King Canute (not the one of tide-commanding fame) slain here in 1086. Also notable is St Hans Church, whilst the 19th century town hall continues the tradition of monumental architecture.

Odensen Denmark is on Funen Island close to the fjord of the same name and linked to the sea by a deep canal. Ease of access was greatly improved in the late 1990s with the opening of Great Belt Bridge, the second-longest suspension bridge in the world, joining Funen to Zealand, Denmark’s other main island. Formerly a though shipbuilding city, Odensen is making a real effort to adapt to a world where traditional industries are no longer enough – take a walk to the harbour and see how well the major transformation from industrial port to waterside leisure area is going. The city has retained some industry but is now focusing on service industries (especially tourism).

This has resulted in added emphasis on the city’s cultural heritage, plus a real effort to create a much brighter, livelier city centre, with picturesque pedestrian shopping streets, a wealth of restaurants and bars and the constant buzz that comes from a large student population.

Population Of Odense Denmark

147,000 (2007)

Odense Travel Guide | When To Go To Odense Denmark

Unless you like cold, short days and long dark nights it’s best to visit between May and September.

Odense Travel Guide | Don’t Miss To Visit This Place In Odense Denmark

• The races – horse, trotting and greyhound races at Denmark’s only race track (Vaeddelobsbane Fyns), with a children’s playground for the youngsters.
• The Funen Village, an open-air museum where old rural buildings from all over the country have been reconstructed to illustrate country life around 1850.
• Oceanium at the zoo, beside the river – offering an amazing journey through the flora and fauna of South America, including underwater sections.
• Vintage trains and ferries going back 150 years at the Danish Railway Museum, along with a mini-railway, model railway and a play area for children.
• A small replica of the Odin Tower in Odinsparken, where it once stood – built in 1935 to rival the Eiffel Tower, but blown up in 1944.

You Should Know About Odense Denmark

St Canute’s Cathedral has the skeletons of both the eponymous Canute and his brother on display.

See Also:

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• The Inevitable Scandinavian | Oslo Norway
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