In a great location, right next to the Østerport station, this affordable hotel is easy to get to from Copenhagen airport and is perfect for the adventurous traveler who wants to explore the region’s many attractions. Learn more aboutØsterport Hotel in Copenhagen – great location and low prices.
Østerport Hotel was built in 1967 and last completed renovation was finished in 2004. Nowadays, it welcomes its guests into a modern ambience and offers everything today’s traveller needs. Several conference rooms are available for business events of all kinds.
Green residential Østerbro
Located where Copenhagen’s historical City Center meets green, residential Østerbro, Hotel Østerport offers modern accommodation with 24-hour front desk service, free Wi-Fi, a bar and bike rental. The hotel has multiple shared lounge areas with a view of bypassing trains. Family rooms and pet-friendly rooms are available.
All rooms at Hotel Østerport are equipped with a work desk, a tea/coffee maker, and a Smart TV
All rooms at Hotel Østerport are equipped with a work desk, a tea/coffee maker, and a Smart TV. All hotel guests have access to the Ironing Room, and laundry services are available for a fee. Breakfast is temporarily served at a café located 200m from the Hotel. The hotel’s bar and lounge area are serving beverages and snacks all day.
Plenty of culture
There is plenty of art and culture nearby, from the Grønningen gallery around the corner, to Rosenborg castle and the Amalienborg Palace. Tourists should also pay attention to the National Gallery of Art. If you venture into Copenhagen you’ll find a selection of exclusive boutiques and intimate restaurants and cafes.
Guests may enjoy complimentary coffee and tea in the lobby while watching the world go by.
Convenient connections
Hotel Østerport is a 5-minute train ride from Copenhagen Central Station and Tivoli Gardens. Attractions such as the Little Mermaid, Strøget and Nyhavn Harbour are within a 15-minute walk from the hotel. Østerport Station is less than 100m from the hotel, with direct train lines to Copenhagen International Airport within 20-minutes. Guests may enjoy complimentary coffee and tea in the lobby while watching the world go by.
Østerport Hotel in Copenhagen – Great Location and Low Prices, written by Tor Kjolberg
Nordic consumers spent nearly 20 billion euros on online shopping in 2020, of which 90 percent were bought from other countries. However, several studies prove that providing a simple option to return products or services can have a positive influence on the number of website visitors and conversion rates. Learn more aboutthe important issues in the booming Scandinavian e-commerce market.
The Swedish company Direct Link, an international-commerce logistic solutions provider, owned by PostNord, have operations and local personnel in Sweden, Germany, the UK, Poland, the US, Brazil, Hong Kong, Singapore and China. This year the company expands to the Netherlands and Turkey, as well as in Eastern Europe.
Consumers in the Nordic are in general digitally mature
Digitally mature consumers
Consumers in the Nordic are in general digitally mature. A report from PostNord states that the pandemic significantly advanced the development towards online shopping, up to a quarter more than before the pandemic. The trend was, however, already well underway, with a big shift from physical stores to e-commerce well before 2020, driven by changing Nordic consumer habits.
The Swedish company Direct Link, an international-commerce logistic solutions provider, is owned by PostNord
The Nordic consumers want updates on logistics and the opportunity to have choices. The ability to choose the method and place of a return, such as a pickup point or collecting from home, can positively impact consumers’ purchase intentions, according to a 2019 PostNord report. PostNord is the largest provider of logistic solutions and geographical coverage in the Nordic countries. Their ownership gives access to more than 8,000 service points where online consumers can conveniently pick up what they ordered.
The most provided delivery option is home delivery
Delivery options
Nordic consumers are happy to buy from other countries and with Amazon now established in Sweden, in addition to already well-established players like Zalando, Wish, eBay and others, this trend is likely to continue.
The most provided delivery option is home delivery followed by delivery at a pickup point. Furthermore, evening delivery has proven to be a popular delivery option in Denmark and Finland and is offered by approximately 15% of Finnish retailers. Machine pickup points, automated parcel lockers where customers can collect and send packages are an up-and-coming delivery option in the Scandinavian countries. Although this option is not provided by e-retailers in Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
So, the Nordic market is obviously important. Since PostNord is a global company, it gives it the possibility to cooperate with a large number of established and skillful e-commerce operators throughout the world.
The products most often bought online in the Nordics, as in other European countries, are clothing and footwear
The most often bought products
The products most often bought online in the Nordics, as in other European countries, are clothing and footwear, followed closely by electronics and cosmetics, skin and hair care. Up to a quarter of Nordic consumers say that they have bought clothing or footwear online in the past year.
20-25% of e-retailers in Denmark and Finland offer machine pickup points. Around 60-80% of Scandinavian e-retailers offer returns via postal service, which is the most common return option. Returning a parcel at the physical store is also provided by 21% of Finnish e-retailers, however, not every e-retailer has a physical store or warehouse. Returning via a local return point is almost never used by Scandinavian e-retailers.
Important Issues in the Booming Scandinavian E-Commerce Market – read on….
Environment and sustainability are issues that are highly topical
Environment and sustainability
Environment and sustainability are issues that are highly topical and all players in the industry must be prepared to take responsibility to the best of their ability and will probably be a matter of survival more than anything else. DirectLink has published an annual report on European e-commerce since 2014, and the trend is obvious, companies are more and more environmentally concerned and consumers are willing to pay more for a more environment-friendly delivery.
More than 1,000 euros are spent in an average year by Swedish online consumers (well above the European average). This amount is not reserved just for fashion. A whole array of consumer goods are purchased by Nordic consumers via e-commerce, such as groceries, literature and audiobooks, home furnishings, dietary supplements, medication and other pharmaceuticals, sports and leisure products, as well as movies and entertainment and much more.
A master thesis study from Chalmers University shows that Swedish e-commerce consumers do not prioritize short delivery times as the most important criterion when choosing home delivery. In addition, most of the respondents stated that they are willing to wait between 1–5 days extra in order to promote sustainable transport. This indicates that not all deliveries need to be treated equally in terms of delivery time but can be adapted and adjusted as needed. With this knowledge, the opportunity opens to be able to offer e-commerce consumers an economical and sustainable transport with a delivery time adapted to the real demand.
In Scandinavian countries, sustainability has become one of the most important social issues for consumers and companies. Whether through media or government regulation, Scandinavian consumers are now keener to make conscientious choices when shopping online.
companies that addresses sustainability in a serious way will have a competitive advantage
A competitive advantage
So, in the years to come, companies that addresses these questions in a serious way will have a competitive advantage on top of doing the right thing as a start for a better reason. One challenge, though, is still that the interest varies very much around the globe related to making a change that matters. PostNord has been working actively for a number of years in order to try to limit its impact and has also managed to reduce its carbon footprint by 40% during the past ten years. The ambition is to become fossil fuel-free totally by 2030.
The Nordics certainly seem to enjoy the convenience of having products delivered to them. Apart from Finnish consumers, the vast majority of Nordic consumers prefer to have things delivered to their homes or P.O. boxes. In Finland, most consumers have a collection point close by, which might explain why more than 6 in 10 consumers there are happy to collect their purchases from a parcel locker or distribution hub.
The logistic companies that are best equipped to handle the above challenges will be the winners in the coming years.
Important Issues in the Booming Scandinavian E-Commerce Market, written by Tor Kjolberg
Some three million Scandinavians emigrated to the United States in the late 19th century, bringing with them craft skills and design aesthetics that would prove hugely influential to American manufacturing. The exhibition examines the relationship between Scandinavian and American design in the 20th century.Scandinavian Design & USA: People, Encounters and Ideas, 1890–1980 runs through 7 August 2022 at National Museum – Architecture, Oslo.
For the first time, the relationship between Scandinavian and American design in the 20th century is the subject of an exhibition. The National Museum – Architecture is proud to present Scandinavian Design & USA – People, Encounters and Ideas, 1890–1980, the product of extensive international collaboration and new research.
Finnish designer Tapio Wirkkala
What is Scandinavian design? What does Scandinavian Design really mean? Typically, the label brings to mind a mid-twentieth century design trend characterised by poise, elegance, natural materials, and an eye on exports. But is this a fair picture?
This exhibition explores almost a century of design that developed through encounters and exchanges between Scandinavia and the USA. The design-historical round trip traces the great emigration from Norway and neighboring countries in the late 19th century and the invention of the term Scandinavian Design in the 1950s. The exhibition delves into the ways that identity building, stylistic trends, and politics influenced perceptions of the objects we gather around us.
Trends that shaped the design aesthetic
Through a uniquely curated set of artifacts drawn from collections in the United States and Scandinavia, visitors can learn about the trends that shaped the design aesthetic, identity and philosophy that we encounter to this day. Among the topics examined were the significance of Scandinavian emigration and the large-scale marketing campaigns for Scandinavian Design in the United States in the 1950s. The exhibition also consideres the role played by design as a tool of international diplomacy.
Kaj Boyesten. Toy after 1930. Photo: Nasjonalmuseet
The exhibition brings together industrial design, toys, graphic design, textiles, clothes and furniture, offering moments of recognition and surprise that clarify links and foster new understanding between our cultures.
Contemporary design from the Nordic countries
When it was coined in the 1950s and promoted worldwide, the term Scandinavian Design referred to contemporary design from the Nordic countries. In the political and economic spheres, the concept became a brand embodying the traditions, culture, natural heritage and democratic values of Scandinavia. Although genuine to a certain extent, the concept is contentious, and the exhibition reveals a multifaceted design history reaching back much farther. Examples that stand out include airline advertisements featuring a Viking, the industrial design of new household goods, and finely crafted silverware for the new cocktail culture. Other examples that illustrate the widespread appeal of the concept include interior furnishings for the United Nations headquarters and upscale private residences, and car interiors featuring woven textiles.
Visitors can discover how transatlantic relationships between Scandinavia and the United States became central to cultural heritage on both sides of the pond. The exhibition is produced by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Milwaukee Art Museum in association with Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo, and Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.
Scandinavian Design & USA: People, Encounters and Ideas, 1890–1980, compiled by Tor Kjolberg
Featur image (on top): Peter Opsvik, Stokke (design 1972)
Tomorrow, on the 2nd of April, it is 217 years since the Danish Fairytale king Hans Christian Andersen was born. The Canadian composer Jan Järvlepp has composed music to three of Andersen’s fairytales, which will be launched by Navona records on his biethday. We asked the Canadian composer why he honors the Danish fairytale king.
“it all started when the founding artistic director of the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Julian Armour, asked me in 2005 to compose some children’s music for a concert the next summer. Although I didn’t really want to do that since I had been composing a series of quintets for the festival, I decided to rise to the challenge and see what I could do. So, I went to the local bookshop (remember those?) and found mostly copyrighted Hollywood stuff like SpongeBob SquarePants and Spiderman.
Bob Denn is the storyteller of three Hans Christian Andersen fairytales
Andersen’s stories resonated musically with the composer
In order to avoid copyright problems, I decided to go with classic texts and ended up buying stories by Andersen (the Mrs. H. B. Paull translation), the Grimm Brothers and 1,001 Nights. I read about 35 Andersen Stories and found three which resonated with me musically.
Julian and I successfully applied to the City of Ottawa for an arts grant and with that I composed music for The Little Match Girl. I felt that I was on a roll so I decided to do a couple of more lively stories to complement this sad tale. The stories were successfully premiered at the 2006 festival with two narrators and a string quintet. That was followed by a couple of performances in Finland by the Mikkeli orchestra and a Finnish actor telling the stories in Finnish.
The Janacek Philharmonic orchestra conducted by Stanislav Vavrinek
Distance collaboration
Fortunately Navona Records got interested in this project so the string orchestra part was recorded in Ostrava, Czechia by the Janacek Philharmonic orchestra conducted by Stanislav Vavrinek. I attended by Skype as this was done during the period of corona mania. Unfortunately, I had to get up at 2:30 a.m. to be ready, coffee in hand, for the 3:00 a.m. start time, which is a reasonable 9:00 a.m. in Czechia.
New recording of three H. C. Andersen fairytales – The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Little Match Girl and The Emperor’s New Clothes.
I also attended remotely the voiceover recording, which took place in Burbank, California using the veteran narrator Rob Dean, who has recorded about 1,000 audio books. Then, the whole project was mixed in Czechia and released from New Hampshire, USA where the cover art and booklet design were created.”
Bob Denn is the storyteller of three Hans Christian Andersen fairytales; The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Little Match Girl and The Emperor’s New Clothes.
Composer Jan Järvlepp
Composer Jan Järvlepp Composer Jan Järvlepp began playing pop guitar at the age of 12 and took up cello in high school at the age of 14. He also learned to play bass guitar and harmonica at this time. In university he majored in composition while developing his cello playing skills. As his studies progressed, he realized that he was not on the same wavelength as his modernist composition teachers.
Järvlepp delved deeper and deeper into the world of pop-influenced contemporary “classical” composition. He has completely turned his back on the avant-garde modernism that he was rigorously trained in to concentrate on the emerging neo-tonal style. He has also taken an interest in Hispanic, flamenco, Arab and Nordic folk styles. The result has been a variety of accessible pieces of music that appeal to a surprisingly wide cross section of the public. At times Järvlepp employs unusual combinations of instruments that have not previously been heard in the world of classical music. He has composed over 80 works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, orchestra and electronic instruments.
Canadian Composer Honors the Danish Fairytale King, based on Järvlepp’s website as well as email conversation between the composer and Tor Kjolberg.
Everyone has a sense of humor – at least to a certain extent – although not everybody is willing to show it. Despite the rumor that Northern people lack humor, I claim that Scandinavians are extremely good at making and taking jokes. Why? Read on and learn more about humor in Scandinavia.
One of the reasons why the rumor of Scandinavians’ lack of humor is probably that it often fails to translate. I must admit though that Scandinavians don’t have the reputation of being the clowns in the room. Many foreigners believe that Scandinavians laugh only when they have a facial cramp.
We have all experienced that there is usually a chain reaction, when someone starts laughing and everybody starts laughing
The chain reaction
However. We’re not different from other people. We have all experienced that there is usually a chain reaction, when someone starts laughing and everybody starts laughing before they don’t even know what they are laughing at. Such scenes are very familiar to the ones who attend to academic conferences, where you can see the biggest number of people who are ready to laugh at anything.
‘gallows humor’ is very typical of Scandinavia. Illustration by Absurdgalleriet
‘Galgenhúmor’ or ‘gallows humor’ is very typical of Scandinavia, and so-called Scandi comedy is about to become the new Nordic noir.
Thanks to a slew of satires, rom-coms and dramedies, things are changing: Scandi comedy is about to become the new Nordic noir. Lisa Langseth, creator of Netflix’s Love & Anarchy, said, “Sweden is put into a box where dark crime has made us famous abroad. People just don’t think of humor when they think of Sweden.” Her series, about an outwardly successful but secretly dissatisfied married mother of two (starring Ida Engvoll) couldn’t be further from grisly crime drama. A Man Called Ove (starring Rolf Lassgård) is another example of genuine Swedish humor.
Rolf Lassgård starring in A Man Called Ove,
Norwegians, like myself, love to laugh, but there is a mix of different types of humors which hit a nerve with Norwegians. Although Norwegians love to laugh, I am not sure there is a typical Norwegian humor like for instance the British.
Danish humor is a tricky thing for many foreigners. Danes compete with the Brits for world leaders in dry humor and sarcasm, but it can be hard for foreigners to figure out what’s a joke and what’s not.
Sweden’s ‘The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window and Disappeared’, based on Jonas Jonasson’s well-loved and best-selling book, is a relative recent comedy from Scandinavia that has found international success.
One of the possible reasons that most foreigners do not see that Norwegians have humor is that many Norwegians have a very dry humor. They say things with a serious face, when it was actually a joke.
The Danes have a tradition called the kvajebajer (failure beer) or kvajekage (failure cake.)
The person who makes a big mistake offers this beer or cake to others as a way of playfully admitting that he or she failed to live up to expectations.
Norwegian Sverre Bjørstad Graff is the author and illustrator of the very popular and hilariously funny Absurdgalleriet. Considering his huge fan base, it seems fair to say absurd humor is hitting a nerve in the Norwegian public.
Another home run is the very bad English some Norwegians have, using Norwegian expressions as if they were translatable in English: “Honey, don’t forget to take the dekks with the pigs” (piggdekk is a spiked winter tire), is one of them. When one of our prime ministers should explain to a Brit that Norwegian cars have the steering wheel on the left side of the front seat, he said, “Norwegian cars have the rats on the left side.” (Ratt is steering wheel in Norwegian).
Translation of text: “My girl friend dumped me, so I stole her wheel-chair. Guess who came creeping back.”
I cannot end this short presentation of Scandinavian humor without trying my best to share with you a typical joke about the Swede, the Norwegian and the Dane:
Three men and a parachute
So, a Norwegian, a Dane and a Swede are on a private flight. Suddenly, the pilot turns on the speaker and says: “The plane is malfunctioning and is going to crash. There’s three parachutes, and I’m going to take one. You’re going to have to figure out who doesn’t get one”. He then proceeds to jump out of the plane.
The three men panic, but the Norwegian tells the others to calm down and then says to the Swede: “Here. You take one, we’ll figure out who gets the last one.” And the swede jumps.
The Norwegian then turns to the Dane and says: “Let’s grab the chutes and get out of this thing.”
The Dane says, very confused:” But you just gave the second to last parachute to the Swede? There’s only one left now.”
To which the Norwegian replies: “Relax man, I gave him my backpack.”
In any case, one thing is for sure, humor is very important in Scandinavian countries. To survive in an area where it is night time half of the year and raining the rest, you need minimum two things: alcohol and humor. And sex. And holidays in the South. Okay that makes four things.
Humor in Scandinavia, written by Tor Kjolberg
Feature image (on top): Illustration by Inge Grødum for Aftenposten
The book “Digitalisering og internasjonal politikk” (in Norwegian only) was launched on Monday. The use of digital weapons, not least in war-times, is a rising problem. The researchers Karsten Friis and Håkon Bergsjø, both from NUPI, take a look on different perspectives from leading professional environments on how digitalization affects international politics and conflict dynamics. The Norwegian researchers take also a look on Ukraine’s Astonishing Defense.
As the conflict in Ukraine escalated, experts on digitalization have been speculating about the kind of cyber-attacks that Russia might conduct. However, Russia’s reputation as a digital power nation seems to have failed just as much as Russia’s reputation as a military power.
The book by the Norwegian researchers does not focus on what security policy choices and dilemmas the new digital everyday life represents for Norway and the rest of the world.
Ukraine’s cyber defense
Ukraine has been systematically investing in cyber defense for many years. The Ukrainian defense has succeeded in intercepting the Russian invasion forces as well as maintaining its own communication with the outside world. NATO, which has been working for a number of years with Ukraine to increase its cyber defense, signed an agreement a few weeks before the invasion aimed at enhancing cyber cooperation with Ukraine.
Zelensky has had video meetings with world leaders almost daily. Only in the last week he has spoken to the authorities in the United States, Israel and Italy. It strengthens the morale of the Ukrainian people – and the support of the international community.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the nation in Kyiv, Ukraine, late Monday, March 7, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In what has been referred to as an unprecedented effort in the midst of an armed conflict, a whole “IT army” of volunteers was assembled in response to a request by the minister of digital transformation to support the country’s cyber-defense efforts, with reports of some even operating from within bomb shelters.
Security policy choices
The book by the Norwegian researchers does not focus on the Ukraine’s cyber-defense but rather on what security policy choices and dilemmas the new digital everyday life represents for Norway and the rest of the world.
The Ukrainian defense has succeeded in intercepting the Russian invasion forces as well as maintaining its own communication with the outside world.
One thing is for sure, though. Russia wants to destroy the existing communication channels. Maybe they will succeed, because this war is not over yet. But so far it has been astonishingly quiet from Russian hackers.
Norwegian Researchers on Ukraine’s Astonishing Defense, written by Tor Kjolberg
As a young man, Johan Munthe (1864-1933) was born in Bergen. He received a military education at the Cavalry Cadet School (Kavaleriets underoffiserskole) in Trondheim. In 1886,he emigrated to China during a period of upheaval and rebellion. He also collected what has become one of Europe’s largest collections of Chinese art. Learn more about the Norwegian China-man.
Senior consultant at the Bergen Museum Kode, Jorunn Haakestad, who is the editor of the book “Porcelain and Revolution”, says that the general, adventurer and art collector Johan Munthe is a fascinating man.
Porcelain and Revolution, edited by Jorunn Haakestad
Munthe first started working with the Chinese Maritime Customs Service. He enlisted in the Chinese Army during the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95). He mastered the Mandarin Chinese language and remained as a cavalry instructor under General Yuan Shikai.
Donated 2,500 objects to Bergen
After the fall of the empire, he became an adviser to the Chinese Ministry of War during the early years of the republic. At the same time, he was building up a massive collection of art objects, most of which he eventually donated to the West Norway Museum of Decorative Art in his birth-town Bergen.
For almost 25 years, Haakestad has been responsible for the art collection, which counts over 4,500 East Asian objects, 2,500 of which were donated to the museum by Munthe, who’s association with Yuan Shikai proved advantageous. He advanced in rank to lieutenant General and Chief of Legation Quarters Beijing. He was also an advisor to the Ministry of War, the first and only foreigner to achieve such a position. He gained good access to arts and crafts.
the Chinese collection is part of KODE Art Museums and Composer Homes
The Chinese Collection Today, the museum and Munthe’s magnificent bequest – the Chinese collection – are part of KODE Art Museums and Composer Homes. Munthe’s collection includes porcelain, paintings, costumes, and statues in bronze and marble.
Munthe was building up a massive collection of art objects
In the book “Porcelain and Revolution”, Jorunn Haakestad introduces us to the life of this fascinating man. Drawing on new sources, she adds further dimensions to Munthe’s story, presenting him not just as a soldier and art collector, but also as a bank director, amateur poet, and religious contemplative. Thus, she brings us closer to answering the enigma of who Johan W.N. Munthe really was.
In 1919, he married German-born Alexandra Ethelred von Herder (1867-1920 ). She was the widow of Frederick William Grantham (1870–1915) and was the mother of Sir Alexander Grantham (1899–1978) who was Governor of Hong Kong from 1947 to 1957.
Throughout his life, Munthe sent boxes of Chinese art home to Bergen. The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon also holds a large number of works collected by Munthe, later acquired by the Museum’s founder, Gertrude Bass Warner (1863-1951).
Throughout his life, Munthe sent boxes of Chinese art home to Bergen
Jorunn Haakestad (born 1950) is an art historian with a PhD from the University of Bergen. From 1997 to 2007 she was director of the West Norway Museum of Decorative Art. Since the museum became part of KODE – Art Museums and Composer Homes, she has been principal conservator, with responsibility for the China collection.
There is an interesting book on the cities and towns of Norway, illustrated by 15 of Norway’s most popular illustrators. The book, published by Figenschou Forlag,depicts 15 cities and towns from illustrator Ole Fredrik Hvidsten’s Arendal to illustrator Kristina Bjerkek’s Ålesund.
When it comes to Norway, the spotlight tends to fall on the beautiful fjords. However, also rural Norway scores big and the book “Norske byer fra A til Å” (Norwegian cities and towns from A to Å) takes us to Drammen, Kongsberg, Fredrikstad, Tønsberg, Hamar, Kristiansand, Lillehammer, Molde, Bodø and Tromsø in addition to the three big ones Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim.
From Molde
Making of the book demanded in-depth preparation, because the publisher Anita Figenschou wanted to find talented illustrators who had a relationship with the city they were to illustrate. In addition, the cities and towns should represent the south, north, east and west of Norway.
Great emphasis has been placed on the visual part of the book, since telling stories through both pictures and text has become a trend. And children have become an important readership. They simply require well-illustrated books if they are to arouse interest.
From Kongsberg
Drawing and interpreting the world we live in is something illustrators all over the world enjoy doing, and something people love to take part in.
Personally I would prefer that the book presented more Norwegian cities, but I understand that it would have been difficult to implement. And I do not think that children, as the book is aimed at, think anything special about just that at all. They are probably most concerned with the pictures and the find-and-find game. And both live up to expectations.
From Fredrikstad
The illustrators: Ole F. Hvidsten • Åshild Kanstad Johnsen • Bjørn Rune Lie • Magnus Lunde Engen • Haakon Lie • Cecilie Maurud Barstad • Ingunn Dybendal • Janne Christensen • Sandra Blikås • Kristoffer Kjølberg • Endre Skandfer • Anette Moi • Tora Marie Norberg • Robin & Rudi • Kristina Bjerkek
The Cities and Towns of Norway, written by Tor Kjolberg
In the 19th century, two Funen boys, the storyteller Hans Christian Andersen and the composer Carl Nielsen, set off to make their fortunes in the world. Learn more about these two of Denmark’s famous sons.
Two of Denmark’s most noted literary and musical figures, Hans Christian Andersen and Carl Nielsen, were born on the island of Funen. At the height of his fame, the composer Carl Nielsen (1865-931), told an audience that his mother had always said to him: “Don’t forget that Hans Christian Andersen was a poor boy like you.”
There may have been something in the Funen air that inspired poor boys to rise to fame, but it is more likely that Nielsen was inspired by Andersen, 60 years his senior. Both came from humble homes, both left Odense to seek their fortune in Copenhagen.
Carl Bloch portrait of H. C. Andersen 1869. Private collection. Photo: Wikipedia
Hans Christian Andersen Andersen (1805-75) was born in Odense, the son of a shoemaker and a washerwoman, and spent his childhood in a small half-timbered house in Munkemøllestræde, now a museum. Quite apart from his skill as a writer, Andersen had a good singing voice and was a gifted artist. At the age of 14 he set off to Copenhagen to attend the Royal Theatre School. The Theatre Board recognized his skills, and he was found a place at a grammar school in Helsingør.
Throughout his life he continued to write poems, novels and plays. His autobiographical novel, The Improvisatore, described the rise to fortune of a poor Italian boy. His early fairy tales, including The Tinder Box and The Princess and the Pea (1835) brought him immortality.
In spite of his worldwide fame and extensive travels, Andersen’s personal life was a lonely one. In 1840, he met and fell in love with the singer Jenny Lind, “The Swedish Nightingale”, but his love was unrequited – she always called him “brother”. His fairy tale The Nightingale was inspired by her. When he was made a honorary citizen of Odense in 1867, Andersen said it was ‘an honor greater than I had dreamt of.”
Nielsen composed two operas, the dark drama Saul and David and a comic opera, Maskarade along with symphonies and choral works, such as Hymnus Amoris.
Carl Nielsen Carl Nielsen was born in Nørre Lyndelse, where his childhood home is now a museum. His father was a folk musician and Carl played the violin. His earliest compositions, at the age of eight, were two dance tunes.
Like Andersen, Nielsen wrote an autobiography, My Childhood in Funen. At the Royal Theatre Orchestra in Copenhagen, where Nielsen became second violinist, the Norwegian conductor Johan Svendsen encouraged him to compose. At 25, Nielsen won a fellowship which allowed him to travel and went to Dresden to steep himself in Wagner’s ideas. Nielsen composed two operas, the dark drama Saul and David and a comic opera, Maskarade along with symphonies and choral works, such as Hymnus Amoris.
Two of Denmark’s Famous Sons, written by Tor Kjolberg
Thanks to its unique geological formation, rich cultural history and extraordinary agricultural qualities, Odsherred became Denmark’s first Geopark. Located 80 km north of Copenhagen, the region boasts kilometers of pristine sand beaches and is one of Denmark’s most popular holiday destinations. Learn more about the first UNESCO global geopark in Denmark.
This supreme geological heritage is constituted mainly by glacial structures formed during the latter part of the Weichselian approx. 17,000 years ago. The most dominant landscape feature is the presence of three very distinct end moraines called the Odsherred Arches, which form the core of the Geopark.
The area of the Odsherred UNESCO Global Geopark is equivalent to that of Odsherred Municipality, populating 33,000 inhabitants.
In 2014 Odsherred successfully achieved that status to become the first geopark in Denmark, 17,000 years after the last glaciers had withdrawn from the Danish shores. However, the tracks they left are still evident and nowhere more so than in the beautiful, hilly landscape of Odsherred. When kids at Danish schools learn about the landscape formation, they look at the maps of an area containing some of the most recognizable coastline moraines seen anywhere. However, becoming a Geopark is not just about geology, it’s also about how the landscape has influenced the development of the region.
Together with the glacial depressions and meltwater plains, they represent a classical geomorphological example of a glacial landform, only equaled by very few other places in Europe. When the established society of geologists, not only in Denmark, but also abroad, at the beginning of the 20th century, turned their attention on glacial dynamics and ice age geology, they therefore also focused on Odsherred’s glacial landscape. Since the end of the last ice age, postglacial and coastal processes have shown just as important in forming of the landscape, today still causing a constant change.
The hunebeds in the area are also members of the international network of Megalithic Routes. Photo: European Geoparks Network
The hunebeds in the area are also members of the international network of Megalithic Routes. The UNESCO Global Geopark Network has recognized 90 Geoparks based on the past and present influence of the areas’ geological attributes.
The area of the Odsherred UNESCO Global Geopark is equivalent to that of Odsherred Municipality, populating 33,000 inhabitants. Since the termination of the last glacial period, humans have been making their mark on Odsherred and the landscape has attracted people from far and wide since the early 18th century. Today the area is an attractive holiday destination with more than 26,000 summer residences, thus having the summer population arising to more than 100,000 inhabitants.
The cultural history, arts, and the local produce, are all closely intertwined with the landscape and geology, thereby becoming the four topics of Odsherred UNESCO Global Geopark. As a part of the strong and widespread community involvement, local stakeholders, business, the tourism agency, the national nature agency and associations help to support the socioeconomic development.
Last, but not least, Odsherred has become home to one of Denmark’s best gourmet restaurants, Dragsholm Slot. Expect to be taken on a gastronomic journey thanks to around 20 carefully crafted, innovative and intensely flavored dishes created using local, foraged, seasonal or preserved produce. This atmospheric cellar restaurant is set in the former kitchens of an impressive 800-year-old castle.
The First UNESCO global Geopark in Denmark, written by Tor Kjolberg
