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Grave of Hans Christian Andersen vandalized

The Local Denmark
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Grave of Hans Christian Andersen vandalized
Photo: Nikolai Linares/Scanpix

The tombstone of world-renowned Danish author Hans Christian Andersen was defaced in Assistens Cemetery in Nørrebro but police said it was not connected to the desecration of a Muslim cemetery outside of Copenhagen.

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The grave of Hans Christian Andersen, who is almost universally regarded as the most famous Dane ever, was vandalized with a vulgarity over the weekend, Copenhagen Police confirmed early on Sunday.
 
“We received a report at 8.40pm that graffiti had been noticed on the tombstone. A patrol confirmed that ‘Fuck Denmark’ had been written with a silver-coloured marker. Further down on the stone, it says ’69!’,” police spokesman Henrik Brix told Ritzau. 
 
Although the incident came to light less than 24 hours after a Muslim cemetery in Brøndby was vandalized, police said that they could not draw a direct line between the two acts. 
 
 
“We don’t know if this is an act of revenge. It is curious that these two things happen so close to each other but we cannot draw any other conclusions than that there have been two desecrated burial sites,” Brix told Ritzau. 
 
On Sunday morning, police wrote on Twitter that they believe the graffiti was written on Andersen's grave before the Saturday incident at the Muslim cemetery. 
Brix said that the police have arranged for the Andersen graffiti to be removed and are taking the action seriously. 
 
“Right now we have few clues. We have a sole imprint but this is a very well-visited area, so it can be difficult. We hope to find the marker and have looked for it in the rubbish bins,” Brix said. 
 
Andersen's grave was the only one to have been defaced in Assistens Cemetery. The cemetery is also the final resting place of philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, Nobel Prize recipient Niels Bohr and singer Natasja Saad, among others. 
 
Photo: Nikolai Linares/Scanpix
 
 

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