In this place stood one of the oldest and most beautiful trees in the palace grounds. The tree, which was unfortunately felled by strong winds in 2020, had experienced a lot in its long life. It had seen emperor, king and duke and provided shade and inspiration for great cultural personalities like the fairy-tale poet Hans Christian Andersen.
On the tree, there was a memorial plaque with the text “In the shelter of this Lime tree, the fairy-tale poet H.C. Andersen rested during his visits to Augustenborg”.
The world-famous fairy-tale poet knew the ducal family at Augustenborg well and visited them both in Augustenborg and at Gråsten Palace.
It is possible that Hans Christian Andersen found inspiration when he was sitting under the large lime tree in the beautiful palace garden, overlooking the fjord.
During his visit to Augustenborg, Hans Christian Andersen started writing the novel “The Two Baronesses”, in which the character of the old baroness was said to be based on Duchess Louise Augusta. He also completed the text for the opera “Little Kirsten”.
The Tinderbox is one of Andersen’s most famous fairy tales. Here is an excerpt in Alsic, which is the dialect spoken on the island of Als:
Æ fyetøj
Dæe kam en soldat marserend hen a æ vej – jen, to – jen, to. Han haej sin tonyste o æ røk å en sabel hængend å dask, få han haej nemle wæen i krieg, å wa o vej hjem. Plusle møtt han en gammel heks – hun så et godt ue, æ undelæbb hang nee o hind brøst, men hun soej: ”Gojawten soldat! Sikken flot tonyste å sabel do hae, do æ da west en regte soldat!
No ska do få old di pæeng do will eje å ha!”
“Tak ska do essen ha, din gammel heks,” soej gutten soldat, “Men wodan skuld det gå te?”
“Kan do se det stoe træ?” soej æ heks å pegt o det træ lieg we æ sie a dem, “det æ hiel huel indi, do ska bae krewel op i æ trætop, så æet et holl som da kan la dej glie nee a, så komme do dyft nee unde æ træ, a binde en strek om æ liw a dej, så a ka hejs dej op ægjen næe do rowe ætte mæ!”
You can also visit the Ice Cellar, which is under the mound nearby.