What you didn't know about The Little Mermaid
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The Little Mermaid is one of the most beloved and recognisable symbols of Denmark. She has been adapted to various media including ballet, opera and film and interpreted in thousands of different ways on t-shirts, statuettes, paintings, postcards and posters. But why is it people come from all over the world to visit the understated statue along Langelinie in Copenhagen?
The Little Mermaid was originally a fairly tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen in 1836. The story traces the journey of a young mermaid as she falls in love with a handsome prince and tries to gain a human soul. She yearns for the world out of the water yet she is held down by the forces that keep her under the sea. It is a story of love, longing and immortality that contains the classic theme of loved turned to tragedy and redemption, that people are still fascinated by.
Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg brewery, commissioned the sculpture of The Little Mermaid by Danish sculptor Edward Eriksen in 1909, after he had seen a ballet interpretation of Hans Christian Andersen’s story. Since her unveiling along Copenhagen’s Harbour in 1913, the Little Mermaid has become a national symbol of Denmark and therefore also attracted protest and vandalism, but this only seems to fuel the public’s interest in her. She is still the most famous tourist attraction in Denmark. Proving that her interesting backstory and humble beauty, continues to inspire and fascinate after all these years.
Little Mermaid facts
The statue's head was modelled after the Danish ballerina Ellen Price, but as she would not agree to model in the nude, the sculptor's wife was used for the body.
She draws about 1.5 million visitors a year to Copenhagen.
She has been beheaded 3 times, lost her arm once and had paint poured over her several times by activists.
The Little Mermaid is only 4.1 feet (1.25 metres) high.
