Following the footsteps of H.C. Andersen at Glorup Manor

H.C. Andersen was often picked up by the estate's carriage from the ship's bridge in Nyborg. During his stays, the author went on a number of excursions to other Funen manor houses, but above all, he found peace to write his works: Fairy tales, dramatic works, travelogues and novels took shape here.

Today, access to the manor house is only by appointment, but the garden is open to the public from sunrise to sunset, and it is precisely to the garden that some of H.C. Andersen's finest descriptions of Glorup are linked.

In the novel Only a Fiddler from 1837, the protagonist Christian moves through Glorup's fantastically described garden on a moonlit night, where he encounters the Andromeda sculpture at the end of one of Glorup's two avenues:

He was at the manor of Glorup, sitting on the ditch into the old-fashioned garden. From the main building came the music he heard; from there the lights shone out to him. Irresistibly he was drawn closer; he let himself slide down between the bushes and was now in the garden.

Mighty, ancient trees, with branches densely intertwined, formed an endlessly long avenue; a female figure of white marble stood with chains bound to a rock.

What he had heard in "A Thousand and One Nights" about enchanted gardens and castles seemed to him here a reality; perhaps he would be helped here and become happy, as one usually does in fairy tales. (Only a Fiddler (1837).

In 1851, when the Three-Year War ended, a celebration was held for the returning soldiers at Glorup on July 7th.

A tent was erected in the avenue, and H.C. Andersen was deeply involved in the work of decorating it. In his diary, he wrote in detail about the decorations in the days leading up to the party, among other things, it reads:

The peasants were delighted with what they saw of the tent. "The King himself could see it!" one said.

— "Towards evening we got the ceiling decorated and everyone was very happy to see how it all came together now."

— "The tent in front of the avenue is 50 ells long, 16 wide, 10 high in the middle and 8 on the sides. Outside in front of the entrance, the rape sails are covered with sheets, greenery, garlands and flags. Two entrances in front and between the two inside the orchestra Above the doors and to the orchestra railing some long newly painted door pieces we found in the attic."

— "A piece of velvet from a priest's habit was placed as a background in the middle and a large plaster Flora with a fresh rose wreath on her arm in the middle, a large flag inside each door, wreaths over the orchestra and five flags…. (diary 6 July 1851)."

Two of H.C. Andersen's sketches for the decoration of the tent are preserved at Odense City Museums.

NB! Do not enter the towers, as it may be dangerous! The park's suspension bridge with the two red towers was established in connection with the conversion of the Baroque garden into a romantic garden.

H.C. Andersen followed the construction closely, and in his diary from August 4, 1867, one can read how the poet left his mark on the construction:

"... I had been down to the suspension bridge early and seen the Count's and Countess's coats of arms placed on the wall just above the entrance; I suggested to the engineer Englis to place these under the cornice as at the Town Hall in Florence, he tried it, the Count approved this change and thanked me for it…"

H.C. Andersen also participated in the festivities when the suspension bridge was inaugurated on August 6, 1867, and wrote a short poem to the Countess for the occasion:

A house's love and faith
Forge a bridge over all hardship,
Make the journey so light and happy
That life is a song of beauty.