A Small Bronze Figure on a Rock at Langelinie
You come along the Langelinie promenade with the harbour on one side and the trees of the embankment on the other, and then the path opens and there she is: a bronze mermaid no taller than a child, set on a rock at the water's edge. Edvard Eriksen's sculpture shows a mermaid in the moment of becoming human, and it has been a Copenhagen icon since it was unveiled on 23 August 1913. It is small and unimposing, and that is part of the experience — you arrive expecting a monument and find a figure you could almost reach out and touch, with the water moving around her perch.
The story behind her is worth knowing before you go. Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg, commissioned the work in 1909 after becoming fascinated by a ballet adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale at Copenhagen's Royal Theatre. He asked the ballerina Ellen Price, who had danced the role, to model, but she declined to pose nude, so the sculptor's wife, Eline Eriksen, modelled the statue. The popular claim that Price's face is the mermaid's is false. The fairy tale itself, published in 1837, is a far darker thing than the version you may know: the mermaid saves a prince, loses her voice, is never loved in return, and throws herself into the sea rather than take his life.
What You Actually See — and How She Has Been Treated
You will see a bronze figure on a rock, viewable from the shore or from the water on a passing harbour tour. Boats and the skyline make a natural frame for a photograph. Nearby plaques tell you what you are looking at, and it is worth the few minutes to read them.
She has also lived a rougher life than most city symbols. Since the mid-1960s the statue has been damaged and defaced many times, and restored each time. Her head was sawn off and stolen in 1964 and never recovered; a new head was made. In 1984 her right arm was cut off and returned two days later. In 1998 she was decapitated again, and the head was sent anonymously to a television station before being reattached. In 2003 she was knocked off her base with explosives and later found in the harbour's waters. Paint has been poured over her more than once, and she has been dressed — in a Christmas hat, in football jerseys, in a burqa as a political statement. Knowing this changes the visit: the small figure on the rock is a survivor as much as a symbol.
She has left her perch only once officially — to Shanghai, for the Danish pavilion at Expo 2010 — while an authorised copy took her place in the lake at Tivoli Gardens. Officials have considered moving her further out into the harbour to discourage vandalism and climbing, but she remains on dry land at the waterside.
Making the Most of Your Twenty Minutes
- Time it right. Crowds are heaviest at midday when cruise ships are in port, and tour groups arrive mid-morning and afternoon. Come before nine in the morning or after five, and you may have her almost to yourself.
- Allow about twenty minutes to see the statue, take your photographs and read the plaques. There is no official queue, but you may wait briefly for a clear shot.
- Get there on foot. It is roughly a fifteen-minute walk from Østerport Station, following signs east; city bus 27 stops at Indiakaj a few minutes away, and bike paths connect. The promenade itself is flat and paved with no steps, suitable for wheelchairs and strollers — though reaching the water's edge means negotiating uneven, slippery rocks, especially after rain.
- Think about the light. The statue is backlit around midday; morning light falls better on her face.
- Watch your belongings. The pier area is well lit and open, but it is a noted spot for pickpockets — don't leave items on benches, and lock your bike.
What Else Is Within a Short Walk
Kastellet, the preserved star-shaped fortress with its windmill, sits right beside the promenade and makes an obvious continuation of your walk. A few blocks inland you will find the Gefion Fountain and Frederik's Church, the Marble Church. Follow the harbour for about fifteen minutes and you reach Amalienborg Palace, where the Royal Guard relief takes place every day at noon. If you are combining the statue with a harbour tour, you can see her from the water as well as the shore.
Start With the Walk Along the Harbour
This is not a sight that rewards a long pilgrimage; it rewards a slow approach. Walk the Langelinie promenade early, before the tour groups, read the plaques, look at the water she has fallen into more than once, and then carry on to the fortress and the palace. Build her into a morning along Copenhagen's harbour rather than making her the whole errand, and the small bronze figure will give you more than a photograph.