Assistants Cemetery
On our first walk around Copenhagen we went through the aforementioned Assistens Kirkegård cemetery where Niels Bohr and Hans Christian Andersen are laid to rest. This place is incredible. It has atmosphere and then some. There is a rich flavor to the entire cemetery. The greens are lush, the trees old, and the varieties endless.
Around one corner you may find a couple having a picnic. Around another you may find curious tombstones in a unique setup. Some gravestones have runes on them as well. I’m not sure if they are Viking, Anglo-Saxon, or, more likely, Younger Futhark or Rok.
The only thing that disappointed was the graffiti. Niels Bohr’s tombstone is a mess on the backside (not pictured). You can see what Hans Christian Andersen’s currently looks like below.
The graffiti relates to The People’s House Copenhagen located at Jagtvej 69. I don’t know all the details but apparently the government sold the building, and the new owners are going to demolish it against the wishes of many people.
This is the front of Niels Bohr’s gravestone. The graffiti on the backside contains several English curse words. I have no idea why.
August 1st, 2008 at 3:14 am
August 1st 2008 update: I just went through the cemetery again. Hans Christian Andersen’s tombstone looks much better now. The graffiti has either faded much in the past month or someone has tried to wash it off. You can still see it, but it doesn’t look nearly so bad.