Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
nearly 150 languages). The museum gift shop is full of mobiles, cut-paper
models, and English versions of Andersen's fairy tales.
Another H. C. House:
The writer's childhood home (with a small exhibit
of its own) is a few blocks southwest of here, but it's skippable because the
main museum here is so excellent and comprehensive.
Fyrtøjet (“Tinderbox”)
—Next door to the H. C. Andersen House is this
privately run, modern, and fun hands-on center for children based on works
by H. C. The centerpiece is Fairytale Land, with giant props and sets inspired
bytheauthor'stales.Kidscandressupincostumesandgettheirfacespainted
at the “magical wardrobe,” act out a fairy tale, and do arts and crafts in the
“atelier.” Ask about performances (generally daily at 12:00 and 14:00; some
are in Danish only, but others are done without dialogue).
Cost and Hours:
80 kr for ages 3-69 (free to other ages), 30 percent dis-
count if you have a ticket for the H. C. Andersen House or
Møntergården;
July-mid-Aug daily 10:00-17:00; off-season Fri-Sun 10:00-16:00, closed
Mon-Thu; Hans Jensens Stræde 21, tel. 66 14 44 11,
www.fyrtoejet.com
.
On
school holidays, there are more activities, the museum is open later (until
17:00), and you'll pay 15 kr extra.
▲Møntergården (Urban History Museum)
—This well-presented mu-
seum, three short blocks from the H. C. Andersen House, fills several medi-
eval buildings with exhibits on the history of Odense. You'll time-travel from
prehistoric times (lots of arrow, spear, and ax heads) through to 1660, when
the king stripped the town of its independent status. The main exhibit, “Life
of the City,” fills a stately 17th-century, red house (Falk Gøyes Gård) with
a high-tech, well-presented exhibit about Odense in medieval and Renais-
sance times, covering historical events as well as glimpses of everyday life.
Wedged along the side of this building is a surviving medieval lane; at the
far end are four miniscule houses which the city used to house widows and
orphaned students who couldn't afford to provide for themselves. It's fascin-
ating to squeeze into these humble interiors and imagine that people lived in
these almshouses through 1955 (open only in summer, but at other times you
can ask at the ticket desk to have them unlocked). A new museum building
with expanded exhibits may be open by the time you visit.
