Statue of The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid is the most romantic and popularized symbol of Denmark, and no tour of Copenhagen is complete without a visit to it. The elegant bronze statue depicting the main heroine of the famous fairy tale by G. H. Andersen appeared in the capital’s harbor in 1913 and has been an integral attribute of the harbor ever since.

.

Video: The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen

Contents

The story of The Little Mermaid’s creation: fairy tale has nothing to do with it, ballet is to blame

Contrary to popular belief, the monument to the sea maiden was not erected out of a desire to honor the memory of Denmark’s greatest storyteller. The culprit was a romantic feeling, which the son of the “beer king” Carl Jacobsen inflamed to prima Royal Theater – Ellen Price. Admiring the talented performance of the Little Mermaid in the ballet of the same name, the heir to the beer empire offered the dancer to immortalize her beauty and grace in metal. As a result, the rich man not only initiated the creation of the sculpture, but also paid all the associated costs.

.

Edward Erickson, whose earlier designs had already been favorably received by critics and the general public, was commissioned to sketch the statue. However, in the midst of the work was a problem: Ellen Price flatly refused to be naked for posing. No persuasion on the stubborn ballerina did not work, as a result, Erickson had to use his own wife as a model. So the image of the sea dweller can literally be called a composite: the body of the sculptor’s wife is crowned with a charming head with recognizable features of the famous dancer. However, the descendants of Erickson refute this version, claiming that the image of the Little Mermaid entirely and completely copied from the companion of the master.

.

Appearance of The Little Mermaid

The base of the sculpture is a group of stones on which a large boulder is placed at an incline. The fairytale heroine, frozen in a relaxed and pensive pose, sits in the center of this improvised rock, leaning on it with one hand. What is remarkable: the lower part of the girl’s body is depicted in a “transitional state”. Amazingly, the sculptor managed to perfectly recreate that fantastic moment when the slender female legs merge into an elastic fish tail under the influence of witchcraft spells.

.

Popularity and Imitation

The Little Mermaid or “Lady of the Sea”, as the Danes have dubbed the sculpture, does not boast outstanding dimensions. The height of the statue is only 1.25 meters, and its weight is 175 kg. But, as time has shown, popularity and universal love do not depend on the size of the work of art. Almost immediately after the opening of the Little Mermaid monument, rumors about the new unusual attraction of Copenhagen spread far beyond the kingdom, turning the modest statue into a symbol of the capital’s port. Moreover, the monument has acquired clones. So, for example, the doppelgangers of the fairy-tale heroine can be found in Paris, Rome, Tokyo, Sydney and even Saratov. It is possible that the copies would have been much more, without Erickson’s heirs, who declared their copyright to use the original image. Now, anyone who decides to borrow the idea of the Danish sculptor, must make a traditional monetary contribution to the piggy bank of his enterprising descendants.

.

Curious fact: Erikson’s Little Mermaid is not the only sea maiden in the Danish capital. For example, not so long ago in the Copenhagen harbor announced a doppelganger of the famous statue. The second sculpture is set aside from the classic Little Mermaid and its look is more like a sad mutant from a sci-fi movie. The author of the monument Bjorn Noergaard called his experimental creation “Genetically Altered Paradise”, thus alluding to the terrible consequences of genetic engineering. In the same harbor you can find another underwater creature that appeared here in 2007. The nude fish-tailed beauty peeking out from behind a rock is not as poetic as Erickson’s sculpture, but has a more appetizing shape, which automatically makes it popular with male tourists.

.

Vandalism

The Little Mermaid is simply “adored” by local vandals. Since 1961, the monument has been desecrated time and again. He was decapitated twice, “amputated” the figure’s limbs, doused with paint and even blown up. The capital’s jokers tried to dress up the statue several times, drawing underwear on the sea maiden’s body or wrapping her in a burqa as a sign of protest against Turkey’s accession to the European Union. And in 2006, on the eve of International Women’s Day, the Little Mermaid received a festive “present” from the townspeople in the form of a dildo.

.

To somehow protect the monument from encroachment, the city authorities organized a special floodlighting, which illuminates the bronze figure at night, thus preventing vandals from getting close to the statue. At one time, a policeman was even assigned to the Little Mermaid, although the number of hooliganism has not decreased. Frustrated by the constant incidents, Danish government officials have been talking about moving the statue farther into the bay since 2007, but no concrete action has been taken.

.

Traveling to China

In 2010, for the first time ever, the iconic sculpture disappeared from Copenhagen harbor. It turned out that the Little Mermaid had simply “left” for the then ongoing World Expo in Shanghai. In order to protect the monument from vandals, the route of its movement was kept in the strictest secrecy, and at the exhibition to the charming nymph was assigned a personal guard. All this time (from March to October), the inhabitants of the Danish capital had to admire the video installation that replaced the sculpture.

.

Tourist information

The Little Mermaid is Copenhagen’s most popular attraction, so when you go to the monument, get ready to meet a crowd of the same lovers of romantic routes. By the way, it is believed that touching the statue gives happiness in love, so if you are going to ask the sea maiden for assistance in amorous affairs, choose a windless day. Otherwise, there is a risk of getting wet, as the slightest movement of air masses causes waves in the harbor, crashing against the base of the monument with myriads of splashes.

.

How to get there

To admire the most romantic statue in the Danish capital, take the S-tog train at Norreport station. The ride will take you to the “Østerport” stop, from which you need to turn off at the Langelinie embankment. You can find the famous sculpture by following the signs that say Lille Havfrue.

.