Literature

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The Danish-Norwegian comedy writer and philosopher Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754) is often described as Denmark's counterpart to France's Molière. He introduced the European Enlightenment in Denmark and his plays with their jovial-ironic exposure of prejudices and conceit are still performed today on both Danish and foreign stages.

The fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) probably remains the best-known Dane in the world. It is well-deserved that one of the characters who sprang from his imagination, the Little Mermaid, has also become the symbol of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Cast in bronze, she gracefully receives visitors to the city from her wet stone in Copenhagen harbour. In 2005, the bicentenary of his birth was celebrated all over the world.

The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) sowed the seeds of Existentialism and is being read more and more.

Danish Nobel Prize winners include the author Johannes V. Jensen (1873-1950), whose book Kongens Fald (The Fall of the King) in 2000 was chosen by the population as the best Danish 20th century novel. Karen Blixen's (1885-1962) memoirs of Africa became an international success, both as a novel and a major film.

Contemporary names such as Klaus Rifbjerg, b.1931, and Peter Høeg, b.1957, also stand out.

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