 Remembered above all for his fairy tales , Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense in 1805 . It is thought his birthplace is the small yellow house on the corner of Hans Jensens Stræde and Bangs Boder in the old town . In 1908 the house was opened as the Hans Christian Andersen Museum . It documents his life from his childhood years as the son of a struggling shoemaker , to his schooling , career as an author , and later life , with artefacts providing an insight into his acquaintances and adventures . Andersen 's childhood home is on Munkemøllestræde not far from the cathedral . He lived in the little half @-@ timbered house from the age of two until he was 14 . Opened as a museum in 1930 , the house contains an exhibition of the cobbling tools used by his father and other items based on Andersen 's own descriptions . 
