H.C. Andersen

hcaWhen on his travels, Hans Christian Andersen often came to Korsør. He stayed at the grand Hotel Storebælt, the source of inspiration for the poem "Oppe fra Vinduet i Banehotellet" (From the window of the station hotel) he wrote in 1868, in praise of travel, steamboats, locomotives, Danish writer Jens Baggesen and Korsør. – He spent four years of his school life at Slagelse Latinskole grammar school. His time there was something of an endurance test as he was humiliated and ridiculed by the other pupils and the headmaster. In a letter to his poet friend B.S. Ingemann he wrote that Slagelse was torment, but it should be added that he was well received by many of the town's households. At Slagelse Museum in Bredegade, there is a classroom from the Latin School, the poet's room and the headmaster's office. – Not far from Skælskør are the manor houses Espe, Basnæs, Borreby and Holsteinborg that Hans Christian Andersen loved to visit. These were the source of inspiration for many of his fairytales. "It is extremely beautiful at Holsteinborg. The beach is right on the doorstep and the islands outside are beautifully forested," he wrote.

Locations: H.C. Andersen Museum, Odense.