The Danish-Norwegian comedy writer and philosopher Ludvig   Holberg (1684-1754) is often described as Denmark's counterpart to France's   Molière. He introduced the European Enlightenment in Denmark and his plays with   their jovial-ironic exposure of prejudices and conceit are still performed today   on both Danish and foreign stages. 
  
  The fairytale writer Hans Christian   Andersen (1805-1875) probably remains the best-known Dane in the world. It is   well-deserved that one of the characters who sprang from his imagination, the   Little Mermaid, has also become the symbol of the Danish capital, Copenhagen.   Cast in bronze, she gracefully receives visitors to the city from her wet stone   in Copenhagen harbour. In 2005, the bicentenary of his birth was celebrated all   over the world. 
  
  The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) sowed the   seeds of Existentialism and is being read more and more. 
  
  Danish Nobel   Prize winners include the author Johannes V. Jensen (1873-1950), whose book   Kongens Fald (The Fall of the King) in 2000 was chosen by the population as the   best Danish 20th century novel. Karen Blixen's (1885-1962) memoirs of Africa   became an international success, both as a novel and a major film. 
  
  Contemporary names such as Klaus Rifbjerg, b.1931, and Peter Høeg,   b.1957, also stand out. 
  
  
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