The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid (Danish: Den lille Havfrue) is a bronze statue by Edvard Eriksen, depicting a mermaid becoming human. The sculpture is displayed on a rock by the waterside at the Langelinie promenade in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is 1.25 metres (4.1 ft) tall and weighs 175 kilograms (385 lb). Based on the 1837 fairy tale of the same name by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, the small and unimposing statue is a Copenhagen icon and has been a major tourist attraction since its unveiling in 1913. In recent decades it has become a popular target for defacement by vandals and political activists. Mermaid is among iconic statues that symbolise cities. Others include: Manneken Pis in Brussels; the Statue of Liberty in New York; Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro; the statue of Pania of the Reef in Napier; Smok Wawelski (Wawel Dragon) in Kraków, Poland; or Nelson's Column and Eros in London.