Sintra
8-10 March 2017
Hans Christian Andersen in Portugal: Following the Trail of The Writer in the Light of the Romantic Travelogue as a Genre and Literary Tourism as a Phenomenon
In March 2017 the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen ‘returned” to the beautiful town of Sintra, which he fell in love with on his journeying through the Iberian Peninsula in 1866.
His reputation, his travels and the works which resulted from them, were honoured through presentations and discussions during this International Conference on Hans Christian Andersen and his excursions in the genre of the romantic travelogue, which also covered Literary Tourism, ie. following the trail of a famous writer like Andersen from a more theoretical perspective.
The idea for this conference was born in 2015, when Moonluza’s Director, Adriana Jurczyk Duarte met a delegation from the Hans christian Andersen Center at a Seminar in Portugal, and they decided to bring the memory of the Danish writer and his work back to this beautiful country in Southern Europe. The Conference gathered together Andersen scholars and aficionados from all over the world for a three-day meeting filled with wonderful presentations and unique moments, discovering Hans Christian Andersen’s trail in Portugal and other parts of Europe. It also reflected on his writings about these travels and the act of following these trails as a literary tourist. One full day was devoted to Andersen’s 1866 visit in Portugal.
Every element of this conference honored Andersen with a special focus on his journeying through Portugal. The first day included a book launch entitled ‘The Portuguese months of Andersen’ by Victor Luís Eleutério published by Glifo, as well as the premiere of the soundwalk ‘Lembro-me da beleza de Sintra’ by Hans Sydow. During the walk we were honored by the presence of H.E. the Ambassador of Denmark to Portugal, Michael Suhr.
Our participants were also very pleasantly surprised to find Andersen’s image on the label of the wine served during the Dinner, courtesy of Cortes de Cima Family Vineyards, Alentejo. This award-winning wine produced in honor of Hans Christian Andersen is made exclusively from selected Syrah grapes.
The conference had institutional support and patronage of the Municipality of Sintra, the Institute for Study and Tradition of Nova University of Lisbon, the National Centre of Culture, the Centre for Intercultural Studies, the Polytechnic University of Porto, the Embassy of Denmark to Portugal and Family Vineyards Cortes de Cima.
Presenters
Sara Cerqueira-Pascoal, Centre for Intercultural Studies, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Portugal
Clara Sarmento, Centre for Intercultural Studies, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Portugal
Victor Luís Eleutério, History Researcher, Portugal
Sandra Ribeiro, Centre for Intercultural Studies, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Portugal
Gabriel Zoran, University of Haifa, Israel
Jacob Bøggild, The Hans Christian Andersen Centre, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Thorsten Bøgh Thomsen, The Hans Christian Andersen Centre, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Klaus Müller-Wille, Nordische Philologie, Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
Ane Grum-Schwensen, The Hans Christian Andersen Centre, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen, Scandinavian Studies, University College London, England
Anne Klara Bom, The Hans Christian Andersen Centre, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
The full programme of the Conference is available HERE
Information regarding the soundwalk by Hans Sydow can be found HERE
„It is said that everyone finds in Cintra a part of his fatherland.I found Denmark here and I thought too to rediscover many dear places from other fair lands.”
Hans Christian Andersen
‘The conference was beautifully organized and everything went so smoothly. It was a joy to participate in the conference and the other parts of the programme.’
Jacob Bøggild, The Hans Christian Andersen Centre, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
‘The Hans Christian Andersen Conference in Sintra was a highly original and thoroughly enjoyable event, with engrossing papers and with smooth organisation by Adriana Jurczyk Duarte. I, for one, learned much about Andersen that I hadn’t known before, and also about Portugal in his day. And we had some remarkably fine dinners to boot!’
Karin Fernald, UK
‘We have had a wonderful time in Portugal, learned a lot in the conference and enjoyed every moment in beautiful Sintra.’
Rachel and Gabriel Zoran, University of Haifa, Israel
‘Thank you so much for a wonderful and expertly organized and chaired conference in Sintra. It was indeed a very special place to meet and talk about Andersen.’
Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen, Scandinavian Studies, University College London, England
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