Time lapse again

 

My latest time lapse from Copenhagen is this one. Taken on Constitution Day, which in Denmark is the 5th of June, it starts very symbolic at the Danish Parliament Folketinget at Christiansborg Palace with the statue of King Frederik VII in the foreground. He was the king that decided to give Denmark a Constitution based on democracy in 1849. The rest of the time lapse will take you through many of the squares in the old park of the city.

 

Looking at Tivoli

 

The statue of Hans Christian Andersen is looking at Tivoli. The statue is one of the most popular in Copenhagen as tourists flock to pose next to it, or on it.

 

Cleaning Hans Christian Andersen

 

The statue of Hans Christian Andersen seemed to get a spring cleaning the other day by a group of youngsters with dust busters and brooms. And they made sure it was documented at the same time by a photographer. I really got the impression that this was some kind of happening and not really serious. Maybe it was the fact that they had a sign with the words Tourist Trap on it that tipped me off.

 

A new fairy tale

 

The most read Danish writer, Hans Christian Andersen, was front-page news again. An unknown fairy tale of his, The Candlestick, has been found in an archive, hidden among a lot of other papers. This fairy tale was one of a very young Hans Christian's first attempts at this genre and it's not even close to being his best. Nonetheless the news went around the world, showing just how popular he still is.

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Head to head

When out with the camera I often look for pics that are a bit unusual. This one from the park Kongens have, where the head of the statue of Hans Christian Andersen "meets" a passerby is one such photo.

The other Hans Christian

Most visitors to Denmark know of Hans Christian Andersen, the writer, but another one, Hans Christian Ørsted deserves more recognition. Ørsted was a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, an important aspect of electromagnetism. He is credited with shaping post-Kantian philosophy and advances in science throughout the late 19th century. The oersted (Oe), the cgs unit of magnetic H-field strength, is named after him. Ørstedsparken is a public park in central Copenhagen and named after this great Dane. -RS

The least well-known statue in Copenhagen

Underwater in Holmens Canal, between Højbroplads and Christiansborg, is probably the least-known sight in Copenhagen: the statue of Agnete and the Merman. The statue is based on old Danish folklore and illustrates the story of a woman, Agnete, that agrees to go to the bottom of the sea and live with a merman as his wife. The story is perhaps best known for Hans Christian Andersens interpretation from 1834. Off course, it ends badly... -RS

The Swan Lake

Another addition to Tivoli's Christmas Market this year is this Swan Lake, referring to Russian composer Tchaikovsky's ballet of that name. And as the swan also has a leading role in Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Ugly Duckling and because the swan is the national bird of Denmark, it's a very appropriate thing to have here during the Russian Christmas Market.