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THE LITTLE MERMAIDInformatie van www.woco.dkHans Christian Andersen wrote a fairy tale about her, Disney produced the movie, and Copenhagen maintains a statue in her honour, which continues to be the most popular tourist attraction in Denmark and one of the most photographed statues in the world. The fairy tale Hans Christian Andersen first published the beloved fairy tale of The Little Mermaid in 1837. It is the story of the Little Mermaid who saves the life of a shipwrecked prince and sets off on a perilous quest to win his love. The price she pays is dear. To become human she must give up her lovely voice as well as her mermaid's tail, and if the prince should wed another, she will turn into foam on the waves and disappear forever ... You can buy this beautiful story in most bookstores in Copenhagen. It is available in many languages, and some versions also include the historical background. Why, when and by whom was she made? In 1909 the Danish brewer Carl Jacobsen attended Hans Beck's ballet performance The Little Mermaid. He was so thrilled with the performance that he ordered a statue erected in honour of the story. The sculptor Edward Eriksen was commissioned to create the statue, a Little Mermaid sitting on a granite stone at Langelinie Pier, wistfully looking towards the shore with the lit up world of the humans. Edward Eriksen chose to sculpt her at the moment when her tail is being transformed into legs. Her head and torso was modelled after sculptor Edward Eriksen's own wife, Eline. The statue is made of bronze, and it stands 165 centimetres tall and weighs 175 kilos. This might sound like a big statue, but placed on a rock in the sea she does not look very big, which disappoints many people. To this we can only repeat that her name is indeed The Little Mermaid! Carl Jacobsen first presented her to the City of Copenhagen on August 23, 1913. |
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