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H. C. Andersen Hus
Hans Christian Andersen was born
in this house in 1805, although there is no real evidence other than
the people who said he was, and no one contradicted them. He was a
world famous poet and writer, considered to be one of the nation's
golden age protagonists. The church records at the St. Hans Church
in Odense states that Hans was born there, either on the 1st or 2nd
of April, 1805, since newborn were baptized right after birth
because so many died of a high infant mortality rate. The deputy
minister performed the baptism, and it was confirmed by the church
records as to have occurred on the 15th or 16th of April. His birth
certificate was first seen in November, 1823, evidently in reference
to his grandfather's death, but a note was placed in the margin
stating that the birthplace was the corner house, Hans Jensen
Straits 43, which has become part of the museum today. But he isn't
running for President of the United States, so it really doesn't
matter, does it? Hans' father, also called Hans, was a shoemaker and
soldier, who married Anne Marie Donald in February 1805, just two
months before the birth of their first child. Must have been a
shotgun wedding, but the family moved into their own house in 1807,
in Klingenberg 664, which is known as Hans' childhood home. The
house had 12 people living in it, with the Andersens living in one
room, with a kitchen. Hans is believed to have went to a Jewish
school by the age of six, although it was one of the poorer school's
in the city. He found most of his enjoyment at home with his father
telling him stories about Holberg's comedies which seemed to spark a
love for theater and culture. Over the years, Hans would visit the
Odense theater as often as he could, watching the plays and then
going home and rehearsing various parts. His father had passed away
by the time he was 10, creating a very poor environment to grow up
in, but with his imagination and love for culture, Hans was never
bored with his life. He would be forced to go to work though in a
cloth factory as an apprentice, then as a tobacco laborer, but he
wasn't built for hard work, and because it took a great toll on his
health, he went back to school; getting a good education in math and
religion. His mother remarried in 1818, to a shoemaker's apprentice,
and that forced them to move into another house down the street from
his childhood home. By the time he was 14, Hans had left home and
headed to the capital of Copenhagen, getting there with just $13 in
his pockets. He stayed at an inn while looking for work, getting
help from a woman he had met in Odense on her way to the capital
also. He would be able to join the company of the Royal Theater,
under the tutelage of Mr. Siboni, who told him he would be paid with
room and board and singing lessons. Hans moved into a new place, and
began taking German lessons as well. Siboni gave up on Hans singing
lessons, but Hans went on to try his hand at dancing. He had a walk
on role for one of the plays, but continued to be part of the choir,
all the while writing to other artists, writers and people that
could help him along. In 1821, he wrote his first play, called
"Robbers of Certain Berg", which was rejected, and wrote his first
book, which did get published, but not in big numbers. He was
noticed, after his second play called "Alfsol" which didn't get much
attention, although the director of the theater believed Hans had
some hidden talents that would surface if given the proper
education. He petitioned the king, Frederik the 6th, who donated
enough funds to sent him to a well known grammar school in Slagelse.
Hans got to Salgelse in 1822, and stayed with a widow lady named
Mrs. Henneberg. He didn't seem to get along too well, and had some
trouble learning to write poetry. In 1831, he published his first
collection of poems, and went to Germany, where he met the poet
Chamisso. Hans would then publish his first novel in 1835, called
"Improviser", and his first two story collections. He went on a tour
in 1840 to 1841, that went to Turkey, Greece, Malta and Italy, he
then published a travel story called "A Poet's Bazaar". In 1857,
Hans met Charles Dickens and in 1862-1863, he would visit Spain and
Morocco, describing it in his book "In Spain".
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Viking Ship Museum
During the last half of the 11th
century AD., five Viking vessels were sank at a small fjord in
Skuldelev, Denmark so that a barrage could be created across the
narrowest part of the channel; to keep heavier attacking ships away.
It would be centuries, as the memory of the ships faded, before
parts of them would be discovered by a ship's captain, who then
donated them to the National Museum, in 1898. Although the local
fishermen remembered the ships, because they believed them to
include the ship of the medieval Queen Margaret that reigned around
1400 AD. In 1924, many more pieces of the sunken ships would be
found when widening the channel, and then, in 1953, a professional
diver named Jan Uhre discovered remains of a ship in the dark
waters. In 1956, two sports divers named Hartvig Conradsen and Age
Skjelborg discovered an old ship's frame in murky water 7 feet down;
and they told the National Museum about the find. The museum's
representatives would start looking over the site in 1957, and they
soon realized that the ship was of Viking era, but not Queen
Margaret's. Numerous stones had to be removed so that the ship was
more visible, and then finally in 1962, the area was drained using a
cofferdam, thus making it more of a dirt excavation, that went on
until 1969. All the vessels would be recovered and conserved with
PEG; with every piece drawn in full scale on transparent sheets of
paper. PEG is polyethylene glycol, which is used to displace the
water in the wood, actually replacing the cellulose that was
destroyed from the wood over the years. The vessels are presently
exhibited at the Viking ship museum, and although they believed
there were six, there was only five, with one being so long that it
looked like it was two ships. They were numbered, 1-6, without a
number 4, since that belonged to number two ship, that turned out to
be almost a 100 feet long and constructed in Ireland sometime during
the 11th century, which it turned out was when all of them were
made. Number 1 is a big cargo ship 50 to 60 feet, many think it was
a knarr, number 2 was the long warship from Ireland, 3 was another
big cargo ship 30 to 40 feet, 5 a long warship 50 to 60 feet and 6,
a long fishing boat 30 to 35 feet. Because the ships were discovered
in the Roskilde Fjord, the city has become the hub of the marine
archaeology in the nation, and a museum was constructed specifically
for the five ships. Over the years, it has continued to grow and
increase in size, and the museum is now a ship yard and harbor the
holds these numerous ships. The Skuldelev wrecks are still the main
exhibit, and has been used as models for other ships that are
constructed in Denmark and other nations.
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