Everyone knows about the tender and sad tale of the Little Mermaid, who lost her voice for the love of the handsome prince. However, not many people know that the heroine of this story is a monument. Moreover, the Little Mermaid monument exists not only in Copenhagen, the capital of the homeland of the great storyteller. Only other sea beauties who inspired the sculptors have nothing to do with the legend glorified by Andersen. Who are they - the mysterious Mermaids immortalized in stone and metal, where they live and why did they have such an honor?
Monument to the Little Mermaid in Denmark: a fabulous symbol of the country
Everyone who has ever been to the port of Copenhagen on the Langelinho embankment had the opportunity to admire with their own eyes the main character of one of Andersen's most famous fairy tales. The bronze beauty Little Mermaid sits sadly on a basalt boulder protruding from the water itself. Clutching a sprig of seaweed in her hands, she looks thoughtfully into the distance, yearning for her unrequited love.
The monument to the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" is considered a symbol of Copenhagen and the entire Danish kingdom. The Danes solemnly celebrate his anniversaries by strolling on the promenade and decorating the sculpture with wreaths of flowers. Numerous tourists love to be photographed against the background of the Little Mermaid - the beauty is always in the spotlight. Unfortunately, vandals also do not bypass it: the monument was repeatedly doused with paint, parts were sawed off from it, and even dressed in Muslim clothes. However, every time the Little Mermaid is lovingly restored and brought into proper shape.
History of the Danish Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid Monument in Denmark was erected in 1913, seventy-six years after the tale was written. The master’s Edward Eriksen made the bronze daughter of the sea king, and Karl Jacobsen, the son of the founder of the famous Danish brewery Carlsberg, became the customer of this unusual sculpture . According to legend, Jacobsen was passionately in love with the prima ballerina of the Danish Royal Ballet, the beautiful Juliet Price, but she did not respond to his feelings. He ordered Eriksen a monument to the Little Mermaid, stating that Juliet would become a model for him. However, the ballerina flatly refused to pose, and then the sculptor, without thinking twice, sculpted the Little Mermaid, looking at her own wife. Having received the completed order, Karl Jacobsen presented a beautiful statue to his hometown.
Since then, the sad sea princess sits thoughtfully on a stone a meter from the capital's embankment, defenseless and touching in her quivering beauty.
Monument to the Little Mermaid in Crimea: the legend of the kidnapped beauty
On the southern coast of Crimea, in the water, near the embankment of the small village of Miskhor, among the sea waves , a mermaid with her baby in her arms froze, leaning on a stone. This sculptural composition embodies one of the old Crimean legends - about the beautiful Tatar girl Arza, who was kidnapped and taken to Istanbul by the insidious robber Ali Baba on the eve of her wedding. In Turkey, the beauty fell into the harem of the sultan himself. She was cherished and cherished, but she was languishing before her eyes, yearning for her beloved, left in a distant native land. Even the birth of a son did not save Arza from mental anguish. Seizing the moment, she and the baby threw themselves from the tower into the cold waters of the Bosphorus ... That very evening, on the Miskhor coast, people noticed a mermaid emerging from the water. In her arms was a small child. The sad Mermaid looked at the village where Arza once lived, sat at her beloved fountain, and then quietly sailed back to the sea. Since then, once a year on the day when the beautiful Tatar was abducted, the Mermaid with the baby appears on the shore, and the beloved Arza fountain begins to flow stronger.
How did the Mermaid appear in Mishor?
Resting in Crimea at the beginning of the last century, the sad Tatar legend was heard by the Estonian sculptor Amandus Adamson. She inspired the master so much that he created and installed two sculptural compositions at his own expense: the girl Arzy carved in stone and the robber Ali Baba near the legendary fountain mentioned in the legend, as well as the Little Mermaid monument in the sea on the Mishora embankment.
Famous Little Mermaid from Warsaw: the legendary defenders of the city
Poland is another country where the monument to the Little Mermaid has become a symbol of the capital and is even depicted on its coat of arms. In fact, in Warsaw there are three sculptural groups depicting sea beauties. The most famous Mermaid with a sword and shield stands in the Old Town in the middle of the famous Market. The second monument can be found at the więtokrzysk bridge across the Vistula. The third is located on the viaduct on Karova Street.
According to legend, once a mermaid, swimming from the sea past the Old City, got out of the water, wanting to relax. She liked this place so much that she decided to stay. Nearby fishermen at first were unhappy that someone was constantly confusing their nets and freeing fish, but when they heard the singing of a mermaid, they exchanged anger for mercy and did not disturb her. And when the mermaid accidentally saw a wealthy merchant walking in these places, treacherously abducted her and imprisoned her in a wooden shed, the son of one of the fishermen with his friends helped her to free herself and escape. In gratitude, the mermaid gave the fishermen a word that she would always come to their defense when they needed it. Since then, the Little Mermaid monument in Warsaw has been standing guard over the city and its inhabitants.
Israeli mermaid from the city of Kiryat Yam: in search of sensation
In the suburb of the Israeli city of Haifa, Kiryat Yam, a monument to the Little Mermaid was also installed not so long ago. The sea beauty, chastily covering her nakedness, reclines in a huge sink on a pedestal in the very center of the promenade of the embankment.
This sculpture appeared in Kiryat Yam in connection with rumors, which are becoming more and more every day: supposedly in the sea near the city coast, real mermaids were repeatedly seen ...
Journalists are constantly visiting the town in search of sensation, but so far no one has been able to confirm the rumors - however, as well as to refute it. So the mysterious look of the Mermaid from Kiryat Yam once again draws the attention of tourists to the secret, one way or another connected with this town.