I S T O L I V E . ”
65
For many travelers to Copenhagen,
snapping a photo with the Little Mermaid
is as necessary as a selfie before the Eiffel
Tower. At about four-feet-tall she’s the
smallest attraction in Denmark’s stylish
capital city, but since her unveiling in 1913,
is perhaps the most beloved.
After all, the Little Mermaid fairy tale was
a creation of famed Danish author Hans
Christian Andersen and was the basis
for Disney’s wildly popular animated film
from 1989. The statue has a fascinating
backstory involving a ballet performed at
the Copenhagen Royal Theatre, a wealthy
beer brewer who was also an art collector,
and a Danish sculptor whose wife was
willing to pose nude as a mythical
mermaid. What’s not to love?
Ask most Copenhageners that question
and you’re bound to get more eye rolls
than adoration. Like other world-renowned
destinations that visitors converge upon
but locals avoid —
think Times Square
in NYC and the Vittorio Emanuele II
Monument in Rome — the Little Mermaid’s
perch upon a rock along the Langelinie
promenade in the port district of Nyhavn
underwhelms when compared to
Copenhagen’s gorgeous architecture
and fashionable, well, everything.
Which, of course, only enhances the
humble statue’s worldwide appeal.
DENMARK’S FATHER
OF FAIRY TALES
Love and loss are inescapable facets of the
human condition, and both are captured
perfectly in the Little Mermaid’s faraway
gaze across Copenhagen’s industrial
harbor. That universal appeal explains why
Andersen’s groundbreaking collections of
fairy tales have been told and retold across
the generations and continue to resonate
for readers of all ages.
Born in 1805 in Odense — where the
author’s childhood home is now a
museum and the city celebrates itself
as his birthplace — Andersen moved to
Copenhagen at age 14 to pursue an acting
career but soon switched to writing. A
short story, play and novel were initial
successes, but the publication of Fairy
Tales Told for Children. First Collection. in
1835 was his breakthrough. He’d eventually
produce nine volumes of fairy tales that
would be translated into 125 languages,
featuring ubiquitous titles like The Emperor’s
New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea, The Ugly
Duckling and Thumbelina.
Interestingly, Andersen spent a good
deal of his life exploring Europe, Asia
Minor and Africa, and wrote a succession
of travel books and autobiographies, one
of which included this now oft-borrowed
travel quote:
“ TO M O V E ,
TO B R E A T H E ,
TO F LY,
TO F LOAT,
TO G A I N
A L L W H I L E
YO U G I V E ,
TO R O AM
T H E R O ADS
O F L A N D S
REMOT E ,
T O T R A V E L
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