Copenhagen’s bronze statue of the mermaid from Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 fairy tale is The Little Mermaid.
Edvard Eriksen created the statue, which was unveiled in 1913 on the Langelinie promenade beside Copenhagen’s harbor. Brewer Carl Jacobsen commissioned it after seeing a ballet based on Andersen’s story at the Royal Theatre.
The figure is small by monumental-statue standards, standing about 1.25 meters tall. It depicts the mermaid sitting on a rock and looking toward the shore, reflecting the tale’s themes of longing, transformation, and unfulfilled love.
The statue has been repeatedly vandalized, including incidents involving paint, damage to the head, and removal of an arm. It has also traveled temporarily, including an appearance at the 2010 Shanghai Expo. The statue’s model was Eriksen’s wife, Eline, for the body and dancer Ellen Price for the head.