The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid statue was a present from brewer Carl Jacobsen (The Carlsberg Breweries) to the city of Copenhagen, made by a then little known sculptor called Edvard Erichsen. The Little Mermaid was unveiled at Langelinje in 1913, as part of a general trend in Copenhagen in those days, selecting classical and historical figures to be used as decorations in the city's parks and public areas.

In 1909, brewer Carl Jacobsen saw solo dancer Ellen Price dance in Fini Henriques' ballet "The Little Mermaid" at the Royal Theatre. He was so taken with her that he asked her if she would pose for a statue. She agreed in principle, but was not very interested in posing without any clothes on, when she found out just how public the statue would be. Instead sculptor Edvard Erichsen's wife stepped in and modeled for the body. On September 14, 1912, the Little Mermaid statue was first placed at a test location, and on August 23, 1913, at its current and permanent site. The statue's birthday is celebrated in various ways every year on August 23. Throughout the year, 75% of all tourists visiting Copenhagen go to see The Little Mermaid.

The Little Mermaid symbolizes the fairy tale by Danish author and poet Hans Christian Andersen, the story of a young mermaid who fell in love with a prince who lived on land, and often came up to the edge of the water to look for her love.

The sculpture pictures her as she sits and looks out over the water, after never actually having married the prince, reminiscing over her lost childhood in the sea, as a mermaid.

The story of The Little Mermaid is not a very happy one - she visits a witch and agrees to give the witch her tongue, in exchange for legs to replace her fish tail, so she can live on land with her love, the prince. And every step she takes on her new legs hurt like she is walking on swords. To be with her love she becomes a mute and is in pain with every step she takes - but despite alle her sacrifices she never gets to be with him.

The sculptor has taken a certain "poetic license" when creating The Little Mermaid. She has part legs, part fish tail, although the story by Hans Christian Andersen clearly defines when she has a fish tail and when she has legs. The hybrid leg/tail arrangement was probably done to make it easier to figure out who she is, if you don't know the statue in advance.

Guide tip: The Little Mermaid will be travelling and away from her usual location between April 2010 and February 2011 - she will be at the Danish pavillion at the World Fair in Shanghai, China. However, the sculptor Edvard Erichsen made 2 identical Little Mermaids, one of which is in the posession of his family, and Little Mermaid no. 2 will be on display in Tivoli Gardens while her sister is in Shanghai. To see The Little Mermaid between April 2010 and February 2011 go to Tivoli Gardens during its summer and Halloween opening hours in 2010.