Page 647 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

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through drawings, photographs, 7 Aalborg
letters, and personal belongings. Jutland. * 110,000. k g £ @
A library contains his works in n Kjellerups Torv 5, Kedelhallen
more than 90 languages. The (99 31 75 00). ∑ visitaalborg.com
H.C. Andersens Barndomshjem
(H.C. Andersen’s Childhood The port of Aalborg spreads
Home) shows where the writer across both sides of the
lived with his parents in a room Limfjord, which slices through
measuring barely 2 m (6 ft) by the tip of the Jutland peninsula.
1.5 m (5 ft). Aalborg is the leading producer
of the spirit aquavit, the fiery
E Hans Christian Andersen Danish national drink.
Museum The well-preserved old town
Bangs Boder 20. Tel 65 51 46 01. Open has several sights of interest, Legoland® transportation – the colorful
late Jun–Aug: daily; Sep–late Jun: Tue– including the suitably dark and Lego® train and monorail
Sun. & 8 by prior arrangement atmospheric dungeons of the
only. ∑ museum.odense.dk town castle, the Aalborghus Slot 8 Legoland®
(1539). The Budolfi Domkirke, Billund, Jutland. Tel 75 33 13 33. k
a 16th-century Gothic cathedral, £ to Vejle, then bus. Open Apr–Oct:
houses a collection of portraits daily. & 7 - = ∑ legoland.dk
depicting Aalborg merchants
from the town’s prosperous past. The Legoland® Billund theme
Kunsten (Museum of Modern park celebrates the tiny plastic
Art Aalborg) houses a collection blocks that have become a
of Danish modern art, as well as household name worldwide.
works by foreign artists such as The park opened in 1968,
Max Ernst and Chagall. and more than 45 million
On the edge of Aalborg is the Lego® bricks were used in
Half-timbered buildings at Den Gamle By historical site of Lindholm Høje. its construction.
outdoor museum, Århus Set on a hilltop overlooking the Aimed primarily at 3–13 year
city, it contains more than 650 olds, Legoland® is divided into
6 Århus marked graves from the Iron different zones. As well as
Age and Viking Age (see p627). A Lego® sculptures of animals,
Jutland. * 260,000. k 44 km museum depicting the history buildings, and landscapes, there
(27 miles) NE. g £ @ n Pakhus of the site stands nearby. are many rides and stage shows.
13, Nordhavnsgade 4 (87 31 50 10).
∑ visitaarhus.com Highlights include Miniland, a
T Lindholm Høje collection of miniature Lego®
Denmark’s second city and Vendilavej, Nørresundby. Tel 99 31 74 towns that represent places
Jutland’s main urban center, 40. Open daily. Museum: Open Apr– around the world, and a driving
Århus has a thriving culture Oct: daily; Nov–Mar: Tue–Sun. Closed track where children can take a
scene, with a major art museum, Dec 24–Jan 1. & 7 8 - = safety test in a Lego® car.
ARoS, and an annual summer
arts festival, Aarhus Festuge.
Århus divides clearly into two Hans Christian Andersen
parts. The old town is a cluster of Denmark’s most internationally famous writer, Hans Christian
medieval streets with several fine Andersen (1805–75) was born in Odense, the son of a poor cobbler.
churches. Den Gamle By, the Andersen was admitted to the University of Copenhagen in 1832,
city’s open-air museum, consists and the following year made his debut as an author with his first
of 60 or so half-timbered houses novel. Several plays and other novels followed,
and a watermill, transported but he remains best known for his children’s
from locations all over Jutland fairy tales, published between 1835 and 1872.
and carefully reconstructed. Andersen used everyday language, thus
In the modern part of the breaking with the literary tradition of the time.
city, the controversial Rådhus Some of his tales, such as “The Little
(City Hall) was built by Arne Mermaid” (see p642), are deeply
Jakobsen and Erik Møller in pessimistic and unhappy.
1941. Its coating of pale A strong autobiographical
Norwegian marble still provokes element runs through these
differing opinions to this day. sadder tales; throughout
his life, Andersen saw
E Den Gamle By himself as an outsider and he
Viborgvej. Tel 86 12 31 88. Open daily. also suffered deeply in his Statue of Hans Christian
Closed Jan 1, Dec 24, 25 & 31. closest relationships. Andersen, Copenhagen
& - = ∑ dengamleby.dk

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