An exhibition at the Regional Library recalls the trips through Spain of the Danish writer
The lobby of the Regional Library hosts the exhibition ‘Andersen: A journey through Spain’, which is part of the events of the Murcia Book Fair that has just concluded. The exhibition can be visited throughout the month of October and is organized by the Spanish Association of Friends of Children’s and Youth Books, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, the Danish Embassy and the Queen Elizabeth Foundation of Denmark, to commemorate the second centenary of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen.
The exhibition recalls the two trips to Spain made by the famous Danish writer. The first of them in 1862. He recounted his experience in the book ‘Viaje a España’, which helped to popularize our country, still very unknown to most Europeans. Andersen was no stranger to the romantic current that since the beginning of the 19th century attracted many tourists, seduced by the topics about the Hispanic character and imbued by the romantic ideals that linked our country with the Arab legends, the romances of the Cid and the chivalric spirit of Cervantes. The children’s story writer also had a personal reason: the unforgettable memory of his encounter with a Spanish soldier when he was three years old. Andersen would return four years later, crossing the peninsula on his way to Portugal.
In the different panels news from the press of the time about events that the author experienced on his trip are recovered. The descriptions, thoughts and anecdotes recounted by Andersen himself, a witness to some of the scenes in the photos on display, are incorporated into the exhibition. Likewise, reproductions of scenes from his stories made by Spanish artists are included.
The sample, included in the program of the Book Fair, can be visited throughout the month of October
In the cathedral and the port
In his ‘Journey to Spain’, Andersen devotes the sixth chapter to recounting his time in the city of Murcia and the seventh to describing his impressions of Cartagena, “the city of Asdrúbal”. In Murcia he spent four days and stayed in an inn located next to the cathedral. The Nordic writer recounts his visit to the gypsy neighborhood and the Casino. The journey from Murcia to Cartagena then took six hours by stagecoach. At a stop on the route he tried a traditional drink of the time: warm water mixed with anise, drunk in a botijo.
In Cartagena, where he spent three days, he met the Danish consul and the Russian consul, who acted as his guide. He visited the port, the arsenal, the shipyards and the Casino. He was also able to contemplate the Fort of Christmas and the Castle of Santa Bárbara. He was struck by the strong wind, “which they call mistral here,” and “its bare mountains like craters.” In the port of Cartagena, “which is very wide and has an amazing depth,” he took the steamer to Malaga.
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