The Little Mermaid

Perched on a granite rock along the Langelinie promenade, The Little Mermaid is a small bronze statue that carries an outsized reputation as Copenhagen's most recognizable symbol. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale of a mermaid who trades her voice for a chance at human love, the statue gazes quietly out over the harbor, drawing crowds far larger than its modest size might suggest.

Part of the statue's fame comes from its story, and part comes from its turbulent history: over more than a century on the rock, it has survived decapitations, lost limbs, paint attacks, and even a trip abroad, only to be restored and returned each time.

A Ballet Sparks an Idea

The statue's origin traces back to 1909, when Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of the Carlsberg brewery, attended a ballet performance based on Andersen's mermaid story at Copenhagen's Royal Theatre. Taken with the performance, Jacobsen commissioned sculptor Edvard Eriksen to create a bronze statue capturing the character, intending it as a gift to the city.

An Unveiling Without Fanfare

Eriksen spent roughly two years on the sculpture, casting the mermaid in bronze and setting her on a rock at the harbor's edge. The statue was unveiled quietly on August 23, 1913, with little public ceremony, a modest start for what would eventually become one of the most photographed monuments in the world.

Decades of Vandalism

The statue's head was sawn off in 1964 and never recovered, though Eriksen had preserved the original casting mold, allowing a replacement head to be made the same year. Further attacks followed over the decades, including the loss of an arm in 1984, a second beheading in 1998, and an explosion in 2003 that knocked the statue from its rock into the harbor, each time followed by careful restoration.

A Trip to Shanghai

In 2010, the statue left Copenhagen for the first time in its history, traveling to Shanghai to represent Denmark at the city's World Expo. An authorized replica stood in its place at Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens during the roughly six months the original spent abroad before returning to its familiar spot at Langelinie.

Standing just 1.25 meters tall and weighing around 175 kilograms, the statue depicts the mermaid mid-transformation, caught between her identity as a sea creature and her longing to become human. Its modest scale often catches first-time visitors off guard, since photographs rarely convey just how small the figure actually is in person.

The statue's face was modeled on ballerina Ellen Price, who had danced the title role in the ballet that inspired Jacobsen, while her body was modeled by Eriksen's wife, Eline, after Price declined to pose nude for the sculpture.

Although the statue attracted relatively little attention in its early decades, its profile rose considerably after a mid-20th-century film featuring the song "Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen," which helped cement the mermaid as an official symbol of the city. Today it draws roughly a million visitors a year, making it one of Denmark's most visited sights despite its small physical footprint.

Copyright over the statue's image remained with the Eriksen family for decades after the sculptor's death, a detail that has occasionally complicated commercial use of the mermaid's likeness, though the image enters the public domain in Denmark seventy years after the artist's passing.

• The bronze mermaid herself, seated on her granite perch at the water's edge
• Sweeping harbor views along the Langelinie promenade surrounding the statue
• The nearby Gefion Fountain, a larger and, according to some locals, equally striking sculpture from the same era
• A sister statue nearby, created in 2006 in response to the original's history of vandalism

Most visitors simply walk along the Langelinie promenade to see the statue up close, often continuing on to the nearby Kastellet fortress or Gefion Fountain as part of the same walk. Because the statue sits right at the water's edge, it also makes a natural stop on canal and harbor boat tours that pass along this stretch of the Copenhagen waterfront.

Guided walking tours focused on Hans Christian Andersen's life and stories often include the statue as a key stop, tying its imagery back to the original fairy tale and Andersen's wider connection to the city.

Early morning or late evening during the summer months tends to offer the best combination of good light and smaller crowds, since the statue draws heavy foot traffic throughout the day in peak season. Sunset and the blue hour just after are popular times for photography, when the harbor light softens and daytime tour groups have largely moved on.

Because the site is outdoors and unticketed, it's accessible at any hour, making an early or late visit an easy way to avoid the middle-of-the-day crowds that gather around the statue's rock.

• The statue is free to view at any time, with no tickets or opening hours to plan around
• Its small size surprises many first-time visitors, so it helps to set expectations before arriving rather than expecting a large monument
• The site can get crowded around midday in summer, so an early morning or evening visit offers a quieter experience
• Nearby attractions such as Kastellet and the Gefion Fountain are within easy walking distance, making it simple to combine several sights in one outing