Monday 15 November 2005, the Copenhagen-based department store of Magasin and Odense City Museums opened Hans Christian Andersen’s old attic room in Vingårdstræde 6 in Copenhagen. It is the only authentic Hans Christian Andersen home in Copenhagen that is open to visitors.

Hans Christian Andersen lived at several places in Copenhagen, but the attic room on the third floor of Vingårdstræde 6 is the only one of his former homes that still looks as if he had just stepped out of the door. For brief periods, others have lived there, and it has also been used as a sewing sweatshop. Hans Christian Andersen’s furniture such as his alcove bed, wardrobe and table had therefore been removed, but has now been reconstructed for the coming exhibition.

Magasin and Odense City Museums have collaborated in transforming the flat into a museum funded by the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation. The museum offers visitors a view of Hans Christian Andersen’s old room with an attached exhibition area, free of charge. The exhibition will tell the story of Hans Christian Andersen’s life while he lived in Vingårdstræde, giving vistas to the rest of his life. Visitors can see a film about the writer, read his stories and tales and find details on the whole building as well, because it has its own exciting story.

Magasin has funded the external setting of the museum, which will have its entrance from the third floor of the department store. Magasin has owned the building in Vingårdstræde 6 since 1917, but Magasin’s connections with Hans Christian Andersen extend even further back: From 1837 to 1848 the writer actually lived in the then Hotel du Nord, which was located on the site of today’s Magasin, and has given its name to the department store.