The little mermaid is a constant symbol of Denmark. Interesting facts and photos. Little Mermaid Monument Denmark Mermaid

The fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen was one of the writer's favorite works. The author said that when it was created, it really excited him and was worthy of writing it again.

The monument to the Little Mermaid, installed in the capital of Sweden, occupies a special place among the sights of Copenhagen. This is not only an original work of art, but also a symbol of Copenhagen, as well as all of Denmark. That is why there are always a lot of tourists near the Little Mermaid and viewing this unusual cute sculpture is included in all tourist routes.

It may seem to someone that this bronze monument is very simple - it does not strike the imagination either in size or weight (its height is only 125 cm, weight - 175 kg) and it is installed on a granite pedestal in the form of a block. But the very image of the water beauty inspires, brings back memories of childhood and the time when we met the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid".

To visit the monument, it is better to choose a windless sunny day so that the photos are bright, and you can approach the sculpture without being splashed by a wave and without getting your clothes wet.

The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen - how to get there

The monument is located on the Langelini embankment, you can get to it:

• By train - Østerport station
• By subway - Kongens Nytorv station
• Bus number 26 - stop Østerport.

From the history of creation

In 1836, the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen wrote the fairy tale The Little Mermaid.

It tells how, during a shipwreck, a mermaid saved the prince and fell in love so that she could not live without him. Then she turned to the sea witch with a request to help her. The sorceress, in exchange for the beautiful voice of the Mermaid, gave her legs instead of a tail. The little mermaid decided to stay on earth for a few days to charm the prince.

But the prince fell in love with another girl - a princess and decided to marry on her, and the sea maiden remained for him only a friend. In the name of love, the Little Mermaid sacrifices herself, she does not require a reciprocal feeling and wishes happiness to the prince and his bride. Left on the shore, it turns into foam.

The tale has a deep meaning, and touches on such concepts as love, self-sacrifice and the acquisition of an immortal soul.

According to Andersen's fairy tale, a ballet was staged 73 years later. This performance was watched by Carl Jacobsen, the son of a well-known entrepreneur, owner of factories and the beer company Carlsberg. He was so delighted with the ballet that he decided to commission a sculpture of the Little Mermaid from the Danish sculptor Edward Erickson. When the work was completed, Carl Jacobsen presented it to Copenhagen, and since August 23, 1913, the monument has been decorating the embankment of the capital of Denmark.

Who posed for the Little Mermaid sculptor

The role of the Mermaid in the ballet of the same name to the music of the composer Fini Henriquez, staged by the choreographer Hans Beck, was performed by Ellen Price. It was she who was asked to pose for the sculpture. The prima ballerina of the Royal Theater agreed, but on one condition - the naked body was taken not from her, but from the sculptor's wife.

At the same time, the relatives of the sculptor Edward Erickson believe that the Little Mermaid completely repeats the appearance of his wife Elina Eriksen.

According to legend, everyone who touches the sculpture will surely meet his love. The little mermaid is a symbol of love and good luck. In addition, this monument reflects the geographical essence of Copenhagen, it, like the city, is surrounded on all sides by water. Therefore, every Dane knows that as long as the Little Mermaid is in her place, everything will be fine with Denmark.

The Little Mermaid Monument in Copenhagen is a tribute to the glorious storyteller G. H. Anderson and the immortal heroine of one of his fairy tales. The statue of the Little Mermaid is considered a symbol of eternal love, and any self-respecting tourist should certainly take a picture next to the monument.

Where is the monument to the Little Mermaid?

The statue of the heroine of one of the famous fairy tales is symbol Copenhagen and one of the most popular cities.

In principle, there is nothing special and unusual in the statue, but all the same, crowds of tourists tend to this particular monument.

The statue is located in the port of Copenhagen (the capital of Denmark) on embankment Langeline.

You can get directly to the statue of the Little Mermaid by commuter trains or city S-togs. You can also get there by metro - take the Norreport branch, go to the Osterport station, and then follow the signs to the Langeline embankment. Pointers with an inscription Lille Havfrue will lead the tourist directly to the pedestal.

Monument to the fairytale heroine

The Little Mermaid is perhaps one of the most popular works of the Danish storyteller, and the location of the statue depicting the main character of the fairy tale on the seashore has a symbolic meaning.

Photo and description

The monument represents bronze monument 1.25 m high and weighing about 175 kg. The statue is set on a granite pedestal.

The statue depicts a naked young girl with long hair, sitting with her legs crossed on a large stone.

The girl sadly looks away, as if she does not notice the people and times passing by her, and clutches seaweed in her hands.

Story

The monument was erected at the entrance to the bay in 1913. The monument was created by a Danish sculptor Edward Eriksen.

The statue was sculpted specifically by order of a well-known philanthropist and shareholder, an admirer of art, in particular ballet, Carl Jacobsen. After watching and being fascinated by the ballet staged according to the fairy tale by H. H. Anderson, he decided to give the city a monument depicting the beautiful Little Mermaid.

Posed to create the image of the main character prima ballerina Ellen Price, while agreeing to become a model only on the condition that the sculptor will sculpt a nude figure from his wife.

The popularity of the monument was so great that in many cities (, Amsterdam, and others) were created copies of the monument.

In 2010, the statue was moved from Copenhagen to Shanghai to take part in an international exhibition.

Vandalism

Despite the fact that the statue of the Little Mermaid is a symbol of Copenhagen, it repeatedly became the object of vandalism:

In 2017, the Copenhagen administration decided to move the pedestal further into the harbor in order to avoid possible vandalism.

There are many interesting things connected with the Little Mermaid monument in Copenhagen. events and facts.

1. The statue was sculpted by the sculptor four years- in 1909, an order was made to create a sculpture, and only in 1913 it saw the light.
2. Sculpture has to special meaning Therefore, it is one of the most visited monuments in the world.
3. Anyone can order a small copy of the statue on the monument's official website.
4. In many cities of the world there are copies of the monument, for which the heirs of Jacobsen and Eriksen demand from the city administration compensation for copyright infringement.
5. Little Mermaid Statue most other sites in Denmark were subjected to acts of vandalism.

Read in what other souvenirs, besides a copy of the famous sculpture, you can bring from Denmark.

6. The Little Mermaid has a smaller and uglier prototype - a sculpture is installed 400 meters from the monument B. Noergaard. The sculpture depicts a fantastic creature, a bit like a modified mermaid.
7. According to Danish mythology, mermaids don't have souls That's why they lure sailors and travelers into the depths of the sea - so they hope to take possession of someone else's soul, to feel what it means to have a soul. On the basis of this legend, the famous fairy tale of H. H. Anderson was created.
8. The pedestal is symbol of sacrificial love and always gives tourists the feeling of falling into a fairy tale.

Watch the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Little Mermaid statue in this video:

The Little Mermaid, which is the symbol of the capital of Denmark, was created in 1913. The sculptor Edvard Eriksen chose the famous Danish ballerina of the Royal Theater of the early 20th century, who was also the master's wife, as a model.
The little mermaid is a character from Andersen's fairy tale and has been a symbol of the Danish capital for over a century. The sculpture is a small bronze figurine, sitting on the bank of the old harbor, on a stone and is located near the Town Hall Square. This place is mandatory to be visited by every guest of Copenhagen, because the residents of the capital cannot imagine visiting the capital without seeing a modest touching bronze sculpture. The little mermaid is as great a symbol for Copenhagen as the Tower of London is for London and the Eiffel Tower is for Paris.
The sculpture was commissioned by the owner of factories and breweries, who was inspired by Andersen's fairy tale. Over time, the statue was donated to the city.
The little mermaid, having become a hallmark and symbol of a calm and peaceful capital, was subjected to acts of vandalism several times. For example, in 1964 the statue was beheaded, but the police failed to find and punish the criminals. The figure has been recast. Several times the statue was doused with paint, its hands were sawn off and even blown up. The statue was restored and returned to the city harbor, not far from the passenger pier and the Langelini embankment. Every Dane believes that as long as the Little Mermaid sits on her stone, everything will be calm in the kingdom of Denmark.
It is interesting that the famous sea beauty, which is one of the national symbols of the country, found a genetically modified “relative” in Copenhagen at a distance of only 400 meters. The so-called little Mermaid is not a girl with a tail, but a fantastic creature depicted in the paintings of the famous Salvador Dali. Sculptor Bjorn Noergaard is the author of this creation, which seeks to convey to people how genetic engineering will harm all of humanity. The Ugly Little Mermaid is part of a sculptural project called "Genetically Altered Paradise".
There was a belief that mermaids were soulless, they wanted to find a soul, but they did not have the strength to leave the sea. A 5th century legend says that a mermaid who wanted to find her soul visited every day a monk who lived on a small island off the coast of Scotland. There they prayed together. The mermaid could not leave the sea and with tears went into the sea forever. Andersen, in the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid", which came out in 1836, popularized the canon of history in that the little mermaid was trying to find a soul in love with a person.

The Little Mermaid Monument is one of the most famous symbols of Copenhagen and a popular tourist attraction. The image of the heroine of Andersen's fairy tale was embodied in bronze by the sculptor Edward Eriksen in 1913. Her prototype was Ellen Price, whose ballet part in the production of The Little Mermaid impressed the son of the founder of the Carlsberg brewery so much that he asked the sculptor to portray the dancer in the image of a marine inhabitant.

Bronze Mermaid and her prototype - ballerina Ellen Price

The Little Mermaid is a small bronze figurine 125 cm tall and weighing 175 kilograms and is located in the port of Copenhagen on a granite pedestal.

Probably no statue in the world has been mutilated so many times. The bronze Mermaid seems to have suffered no less suffering than her fairy-tale prototype. For 50 years, the Little Mermaid sat quietly on her rock and survived the Second World War and the Nazi occupation of Denmark even without any damage. And then it started...

On April 24, 1964, residents and guests of Copenhagen were shocked by a terrible sight: a headless Little Mermaid was sitting on a boulder near the Langelinje embankment.

The head of the statue was never found, so a new one had to be created.

The injured Little Mermaid was taken to the workshop of the Royal Theatre. Due to the fact that the original plaster model of the statue, made by Edvard Eriksen, was preserved, it was possible to cast a new head, although this was quite difficult.

After this act of vandalism, Eriksen's original plaster model of the Little Mermaid was hidden by the sculptor's heirs in a secret location. Unfortunately, it has come in handy more than once.

In 1984, the long-suffering Little Mermaid lost her right arm; in 1990, her head was almost sawn off.

The second time the Little Mermaid was beheaded was in January 1998. The head was then searched for almost a month, and in early February it was anonymously planted at a local television studio. For a whole month after that, access to the sculpture was closed.

And in 2003, vandals even staged an explosion near the statue, because of which the Little Mermaid flew off her stone into the bay, where she was found only two days later.

In 2007, the Copenhagen authorities decided to move the monument further into the harbor to avoid repeated cases of vandalism, as well as to prevent tourists from constantly trying to climb the sculpture. But the water did not stop the vandals.

The Painted Mermaid in May 2017

Each time, the monument was restored, and then put in its original place to the delight of tourists and to reassure the residents of the city. Every Dane is already convinced that everything will be fine in the country, while the Little Mermaid, cast in bronze, sits on her stone, safe and sound.

The fact is that in 1909, the premiere of the ballet The Little Mermaid, written by the Danish composer Fini Henriques based on Andersen's fairy tale, took place on the stage of the Danish Royal Theater. Ellen Price, the leading ballerina of the troupe, performed in the main role.

Jacobsen was fascinated by the beautiful dancer and commissioned Eriksen to make a statue of the Little Mermaid, on the condition that Ellen Price be the model for her. But the ballerina did not want to pose naked, and the model for the image of the Little Mermaid was the sculptor's wife, Elina Eriksen.

There is a version that the sculptor still used the facial features of Ellen Price to create the image of the Little Mermaid, although his descendants claim that both the face and the figure of the statue completely repeat the appearance of Elina Eriksen. However, all this has long ceased to matter. The main thing is that Eriksen managed to create an image of eternal femininity, embodied in the fragile and touching heroine of Andersen's fairy tale.

A bronze statue weighing 175 kg and 125 cm high was donated to Copenhagen. It was decided to install it on a granite pedestal at the Langelini pier. Since then, it has become an unofficial symbol of the Danish capital. The beautiful and sad Little Mermaid sits on a stone with a sprig of algae in her hands and yearns for her lost lover.

The little mermaid is a victim of vandals

City officials are tired of constantly restoring the statue. Many times proposals were made to move the monument a few meters from the shore, but they were never implemented.

And yet the Little Mermaid still sits on her pedestal. Every year, the monument is visited by about a million tourists, for whom the Little Mermaid is the main attraction of Copenhagen. Many of them believe that the statue brings good luck and try to touch it. As for the people of Denmark themselves, they are absolutely sure: as long as a beautiful mermaid meets them in the port, peace and tranquility will reign in the country.