Papirbåden – The Paper Boat of H.C. Andersen

A fairy-tale boat in the heart of Odense

Papirbåden, or The Paper Boat, seems at first glance like a child’s folded scrap of paper, set adrift on the still water of the Fairytale Garden in central Odense. Step closer and you see it is crafted from gleaming metal, its sharp folds catching light and reflections from the surrounding pond. The sculpture appears to “sail” quietly in place, anchored in the small lake with lawns, flowerbeds and mature trees forming a soft green frame. The setting is part of what makes the piece memorable. Church towers and historic roofs rise beyond the treetops, while paths curve gently around the water’s edge. Even on a busy day in the city, the immediate impression here is calm: the slow ripple of the water, the rustle of leaves, perhaps a duck gliding past the boat as if escorting it on an imagined journey.

From tin soldier to sculpted symbol

The sculpture pays tribute to Hans Christian Andersen’s story “The Steadfast Tin Soldier,” where a toy soldier, swept away by fate, eventually sails in a paper boat along gutters and streams. In the tale, that fragile vessel carries him toward both danger and his beloved ballerina, turning a simple child’s game into a symbol of devotion and courage in the face of uncertainty. Here in Odense, Andersen’s hometown, the paper boat becomes a sculpted symbol for that moment in the story: the fragile, hopeful voyage into the unknown. The choice of durable metal to depict something as delicate as folded paper underlines the staying power of Andersen’s imagination, still floating through the city generations after the stories were first told.

The Fairytale Garden as an open-air storybook

Papirbåden is just one of several sculptures scattered through the Fairytale Garden, each echoing a different tale or character. Nearby, a statue of Andersen himself keeps watch over the lawns, while other figures from his stories appear around the city, turning Odense into an informal open-air gallery. The garden itself dates back to the 19th century and feels like a small urban refuge. Benches along the water invite you to pause and read, sketch the reflections of the boat, or simply watch the play of light on its metallic surfaces. The gentle scale of the space makes it easy to appreciate details: the angles of the hull, the mirrored sky on the steel, the way the sculpture changes mood with shifting weather.

A quiet pause on the Andersen trail

Many visitors weave Papirbåden into a broader walk linking Andersen’s house, childhood home, cathedral and the riverside parks. The boat offers a natural pause on this circuit, requiring no ticket, queue or structured visit, just a few unhurried minutes by the water. Children often recognise the shape instantly, while adults tend to connect it to memories of folding paper boats or hearing Andersen’s stories. The site works in all seasons: spring flowers reflected around the boat, high-summer greenery, autumn leaves drifting onto the water, even winter days when the metallic folds stand out against bare branches and low northern light. It is a modest piece in scale, but one that rewards anyone who slows down long enough to let the story behind it come to mind.

Small details that bring the story to life

What lingers is the interplay between sculpture and surroundings. On overcast days the boat can look almost monochrome, a quiet silhouette on the dark water. On bright afternoons it throws back glints of silver and blue, as if catching some invisible current. Stand at different points along the shore and the folds of its hull rearrange into new patterns. In this way Papirbåden functions both as a tribute to a specific fairy tale and as a reminder of Andersen’s broader themes: journeys, longing, transformation and the thin line between play and peril. For a brief moment beside the lake in Odense, a simple boat in a city garden becomes a vessel for memory and imagination.