The Little Mermaid (statue)

The Little Mermaid
Den lille Havfrue
A statue of a mermaid sitting on a rock, surrounded by water.
Statue of The Little Mermaid at Langelinie
Map
55°41′34.3″N 12°35′57.4″E / 55.692861°N 12.599278°E / 55.692861; 12.599278
LocationCopenhagen, Denmark
DesignerEdvard Eriksen
TypeStatue
MaterialBronze
Opening dateAugust 23, 1913

The Little Mermaid (Danish: Den lille Havfrue) is a bronze statue by Edvard Eriksen, depicting a mermaid becoming human. The sculpture is displayed on a rock by the waterside at the Langelinie promenade in Copenhagen, Denmark.[a] It is 1.25 metres (4.1 ft) tall[2] and weighs 175 kilograms (385 lb).[3]

Based on the 1837 fairy tale of the same name by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, the small and unimposing statue is a Copenhagen icon and has been a major tourist attraction since its unveiling in 1913. In recent decades it has become a popular target for defacement by vandals and political activists.

Mermaid is among iconic statues that symbolize cities; others include: the statue of Pania of the Reef in Napier, Manneken Pis in Brussels,[4] the Statue of Liberty in New York, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, or Smok Wawelski (Wawel Dragon) in Kraków, Poland.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference m3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Little Mermaid Copenhagen Archived May 10, 2015, at the Wayback Machine - denmark.net. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference AFP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Southwick, Albert B. (June 3, 2007). "An imaginative explanation of the boy and the turtle". Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Archived from the original on July 21, 2009. Retrieved August 26, 2013.


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