94 years ago, on August 23, 1913, one of the ten best-known monuments in the world was inaugurated in Copenhagen: the statue of the Little Mermaid, a heroine from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale. Since then, the Little Mermaid sitting on Langelline Quay by the city’s harbor entrance has been considered a national symbol and the main landmark of Copenhagen.
Sitting on a granite rock at the edge of the shore, Andersen’s Little Mermaid gazes thoughtfully into the distance. This wonderful bronze sculpture was created by the Danish sculptor Edward Erickson under the command of the great brewer and patron Charles Jacobsen. The model for the statue was the sculptor’s wife, the royal ballet and opera theater dancer Helen Price. In 1913 Charles Jacobsen presented the sculpture to the city, and since then it is impossible to imagine the Danish capital without the Little Mermaid.
The Little Mermaid has been repeatedly exposed to acts of vandalism. In 1961, 1963 and 1976 it was poured with paint, drawn with panties and bra, and has even been blown up, but each time the statue has been rebuilt with the original breadboard model.
In 1964, unknown persons beheaded the statue. Fortunately, the old plaster cast on which a new head was made was saved. No criminals have been found. In fact, there were such talks that the act of vandalism was committed by the Danish writer and the “situationist” artist Jorgen Nash, who has confessed in his memory in 1997 that it was he who cut off the head of the Mermaid and drowned. in one of the lakes in Copenhagen.
In the summer of 1984, the hooligans cut off the mermaid’s right hand. They were two young boys, who went to the police and admitted that they committed this barbaric act while drunk. The hooligans were punished only for “the destruction of municipal property”, and the Little Mermaid was rebuilt again.
In 1990 someone had almost cut off his head, having practically cut off his entire neck.
In 1998 he was beheaded again, however a fragment was found and the sculpture has been repaired.
In 2003, on September 11, the Little Mermaid was thrown into the water from the pedestal on which she was set.
On December 16, 2004, the sculpture was dressed in a veil and was attached with the tablet “Turkey in the EU?” (In relation to Turkey’s intention to enter the European Union).
In March 2007, vandals, in the presence of hundreds of tourists, dyed the bronze sculpture pink. The original shape was returned with the help of a special soap solution.
On May 15, 2007, unknown vandals painted the Little Mermaid’s head and left hand red.
On May 20, 2007, unknown persons dressed the sculpture in a Muslim dress and hijab.