Pamätník Hansa Christiana Andersena — Attraction in Bratislava

The presence of the statue of renowned children's author Hans Christian Andersen in Bratislava surprises many visitors. The statue is one of many that the municipality of Bratislava created to eliminate the city center's austere character after the fall of communism in Slovakia.

Andersen is the creator of many stories, including The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, and The Snow Queen. On the monument, the writer is depicted in a larger-than-life-size and seems somewhat timid. The sculpture also includes a snail from the story "The Snail and the Rosebush." An elf sitting on Andersen's shoulder whispers ideas to the writer for his fairy tales. Various colored stones representing petals of flowers are placed on the pavement around it.

One of Andersen's many fairy tales is the story of a poor little girl with matches. The inspiration for it was found by Hans Christian Andersen when he visited Bratislava in 1941. At that time, his ship docked in the port of Bratislava.

While the sailors loaded coal into the ship in the harbor, Andersen and other passengers went to see the city center. Hans met there an unknown girl who gave him a rose. The writer had a strong social sense and was so magically impressed by the meeting that it inspired him to write a fairy tale, The Little Match Girl.

The author of the statue is Tibor Bartfay, who created it in 2006 as a gift...

This monument stands in tribute to the Hans Christian Andersen, the author and writer of universally loved fairy tales.

The monument features a larger than life bronze sculpture of Andersen surrounded by smaller sculptures of characters from his fairy tales, including “The Snail and the Rosebush”. The sculpture depicts Andersen as a man in middle age (I think), although it’s kind of hard to tell because sculpture depicting Andersen and his clothing is smooth and almost devoid of texture.

This monument can be found in Hviezdoslavovo square along with many other monuments in the square. It’s worth a visit if in the square, especially if you want to experience the halcyon days...

Hans Christian Andersen is now a well-known personality in the city of Bratislava. His statue, designed by Tibor Bártfay and erected to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth in 2006, stands on Hviezdoslavovo Square and reminds passers-by not only of his stories, whose characters surround the figure of Andersen, but also of the fact that he once...