Assistens Cemetery

This guide to Assistens Cemetery in Copenhagen opens on a strange detail: the grave in front of you was never meant for the man whose name is carved on it. It traces how Hans Christian Andersen, a cobbler's son who spent his life chasing a place in Copenhagen's literary world, came to be buried in a plot belonging to his closest friend's family. You'll also hear how Assistens began in 1760 as a plague cemetery for the poor before a wealthy official made burial here fashionable, and meet fellow residents like philosopher Soren Kierkegaard along the way.