This Immersive Hans Christian Andersen Museum Will Be Like Walking Into a Fairy Tale

If you grew up reading fairy tales as a kid, chances are you've encountered the work of Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. From "The Little Mermaid" and "The Ugly Duckling" to "Thumbelina," and more, Andersen left his mark on the genre. Now, more than a century after his death, fans of his work can learn more about the author and pay their respects with a visit to H.C. Andersen's House, a fairy tale-inspired museum dedicated to the author.

Opening this summer, the museum is located in Odense, the town where Andersen was born. According to Lonely Planet, architects Kengo Kuma and Associates have taken inspiration from the fairy tale The Tinderbox for H.C. Andersen's House. "The idea behind the architectural design resembled Andersen's method, where a small world suddenly expands to a bigger universe," Kengo Kuma explained to Lonely Planet.

Using unique architecture, light, sound, and streaming images, H.C. Andersen's House will be an immersive artistic space designed to feel like stepping inside of a fairy tale world. The building will also be surrounded by whimsical gardens. Together, the new building and gardens will cover approximately 9,000 square meters with the exhibition leading visitors to Andersen's original childhood home. The main building also houses a café and visitor facilities, and there's a children's house and underground museum, which connects to a surrounding garden.

"Hans Christian Andersen's artistic universe is fantastic, because it reverses how you imagine this world you thought you knew, but without putting anything else in its place," the museum's creative director, Henrik Lübker, told Lonely Planet.

"His fairytales do not point towards a universal truth, but rather into the open — towards the peculiarity and multiplicity of the world. In the new museum, we maintain this ambiguity by using Andersen's own artistic strategies as the starting point for how the garden, the house and the exhibition have all been shaped, as well as for the many artistic contributions that will also be part of the museum."

For more information about H.C. Andersen's House, visit the museum's official website.

Jessica Poitevien is a Travel Leisure contributor currently based in South Florida, but always on the lookout for the next adventure. Besides traveling, she loves baking, talking to strangers, and taking long walks on the beach. Follow her adventures on Instagram.

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