THE POET

HANS CHRISTIAN

ANDERSEN

2 April 1805

4 August 1875

The soul which God in his image created,

Is incorruptible, can not be lost.

Our life on earth is the seed of eternity,

Our body dies, but the soul can not die!

Hans Christian Andersen’s gravestone in the Assistens Cemetery in Copenhagen is plain and unostentatious especially given his worldwide fame and popularity.  Even though, Andersen wrote plays, novels, poems, and travelogues, he is best known for his 156 stories that have been translated into 145 languages and are the stuff all children grew up on. 

Fairy tales such as the “Ugly Duckling”, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, “The Princess and the Pea”, and “Thumbelina” are iconic stories that have been read to children for generations.  The statue of the Little Mermaid, from his story of the same name has become an iconic symbol of Copenhagen and a must-visited stop for every tourist to the city.