
Langelinie
Waterside pier and park with a bronze mermaid statue that has survived decades of vandalism and repair.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Little Mermaid statue on Copenhagen's Langelinie pier traces her unveiling in 1913, commissioned by brewer Carl Jacobsen after Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, and the two women who lent her face and body. It follows the decades of vandalism that came after, from a hacksaw attack in 1964 to explosives in 2003, and the protest messages painted across her bronze skin over the years. Best listened to standing right at the rail on the harbor edge, facing her rock.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
The Little Mermaid
Small bronze harbor statue of a fairy-tale figure, repeatedly beheaded and vandalized yet always restored.
Gefion Fountain
Bronze fountain of a Norse goddess and her four ox-sons tearing an island from the earth.
Højbro Plads
Cobbled square with a rearing bronze horseman honoring the city's legendary founding bishop.
The King's Garden
Baroque royal garden of lime-tree avenues, rose beds and fairy-tale statues around a Renaissance summer castle.
Garden of the Royal Library
Hidden urban garden on a former naval harbor, with a fountain and a statue of a brooding philosopher.
Gammel Strand
Historic quay-side fish market square where shawled vendors once sold the day's catch for centuries.