The Gefion Fountain
A Norse goddess ploughing Zealand with her oxen.
Benoรฎt Prieur โ CC0 ยท Olivier Bruchez โ CC BY-SA 2.0 ยท wanghongliu โ CC BY-SA 3.0 ยท Public Domain Images โ Public domain
Because fame inflates expectation: a modest statue on an ordinary rock with no theatre around her โ and she has been beheaded twice, lost an arm once, and been painted several times in political vandalism that made her Europe's most injured statue. Take her as she is: a lovely stop on a walk, not a destination alone, and you'll find her charming.
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The Little Mermaid is uncontested the world's most famous small statue: a bronze just 125 centimetres tall on a rock at the water (1913), gifted to the city by the Carlsberg brewery's owner to honour Andersen's tale โ and the world comes to be surprised by her size and take the photo anyway: Denmark's most photographed landmark. Her real value is the walk to her: from Amalienborg past the huge Gefion Fountain (a Norse goddess ploughing Zealand's land with her four oxen, in legend) to Kastellet โ a five-pointed star fortress from the 17th century with moats and grassy ramparts, still a working barracks, the city's calmest park with its windmill โ then the Mermaid on the quay. Ninety minutes of harbourside walking joins three landmarks for free โ and the Mermaid is crowdless only before nine in the morning: cruise-ship coaches besiege her from mid-morning.
A Norse goddess ploughing Zealand with her oxen.
A five-pointed star with moats and windmill โ the city's calmest park.
Langelinie, 2100 Copenhagen