The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, a true symbol!

Straight out of Hans Christian Andersen’s famous fairytale, The Little Mermaid is a world-famous story. In fact, she is the main point of interest for all visitors to Denmark every year.

Why is she so famous? Quite simply because her story revolves around the oldest theme in the world capable of appealing to any human being with a heart: love.

Here’s everything you need to know before admiring the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen.

What is the Little Mermaid of Copenhagen called?

Andersen’s Little Mermaid is also known as Ondine.

What is the real story of the Little Mermaid?

The Little Mermaid is the story of a mermaid who, at the age of 15, obtains permission to join the world of humans in order to observe them. While she is surfacing, a storm breaks and sinks a ship carrying a handsome prince, whom she rescues.

She sets him down on the shore before setting sail again, having made sure he was safe. And what had to happen, happened. The little mermaid falls madly in love with the prince, and this love leads her to give up her mermaid tail for human legs in exchange for her magnificent voice.

The witch who performed this magic trick warned her that if the prince didn’t fall in love with her and marry someone other than her, she would die, and every step she took with her human legs would be torture.

Without a loving kiss from the prince, she will turn to foam. Courageous and determined, she stays by his side without being able to speak, but he mistakes her for someone else, whom he believes to be the one who saved him in that famous storm, falls in love with her and marries her.

How does The Little Mermaid end?

She gives up trying to kill the prince to become a mermaid again, as her sisters suggest, and in a fit of despair and resignation, the Little Mermaid throws herself into the sea where she believes she will die, turning to foam.

But the Daughters of the Air, who had observed her and admired her courage and her great soul, decided otherwise: the Little Mermaid became a Daughter of the Air in her turn and became immortal after 300 years of good deeds.

What is the moral of The Little Mermaid?

The moral of this tragic story is that we shouldn’t try to change who we are, because we don’t necessarily get what we want – or even worse.

But this sad story can also be seen in a positive light: the Little Mermaid’s choices and actions, her pure heart and boundless generosity, turned her fate into a happy ending.

Where is the Little Mermaid? Where does the Little Mermaid live?

The Little Mermaid can be found in Copenhagen Harbour in Denmark. She is a bronze statue standing on a rock in Churchill Park.

Created in 1913, she is 125 cm high and weighs 180 kg. It was created by an Icelandic-Danish sculptor by the name of Edvard Johannes Eriksen.

Who inspired the Little Mermaid?

The inspiration came from Ellen Price, prima ballerina at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen (who played the role of “The Little Mermaid” in the ballet of the same name).

Although it was his wife, Eline Eriksen, who ultimately served as his model, as the prima ballerina refused to pose nude.

Why is the Little Mermaid the symbol of Copenhagen?

This bronze statue, so much photographed and admired by thousands of tourists every year, takes them back to Andersen’s world-famous fairytale. Everyone wants to see the Little Mermaid up close and personal, with her melancholy gaze.

What is the most visited monument in Copenhagen?

Without doubt, the statue of the Little Mermaid, a veritable Copenhagen icon.

This imaginary character, around whom many legends have been created over the years, arouses curiosity.

A victim of its own success, the statue has been vandalised several times: decapitated, painted over, thrown into the sea…