Copenhagen became Hans Christian Andersen’s main home after he left Odense.
Andersen moved to Copenhagen in 1819, at the age of 14, to seek a career in the theatre. The city was the center of Denmark’s cultural and royal institutions, including the Royal Danish Theatre, where he hoped to perform. Although his theatrical ambitions changed, Copenhagen remained the base from which he developed his literary career.
The city connected Andersen with patrons, publishers, artists and intellectuals. He also traveled widely across Europe, so he was not always in Copenhagen, but the capital remained his principal Danish setting and the place where he spent his final years.
Odense was his birthplace and later became strongly associated with his memory, while Elsinore was connected with part of his schooling. These cities can therefore appear in biographies, but Copenhagen is the answer for his main adult home and literary base.