You’ve seen the picture. It’s almost impossible not to have encountered a little mermaid statue photo if you’ve spent more than five minutes scrolling through travel blogs or Pinterest. Perched on a granite rock at Langelinie pier in Copenhagen, the bronze figure looks—honestly—a lot smaller than people expect. It’s only about 4 feet tall. Yet, this 175-kilogram sculpture is the most visited landmark in Denmark, drawing over a million people a year who crowd around the shoreline just to get that one iconic shot.
But there’s a weird tension surrounding it.
Locals often joke that it’s the biggest disappointment in Europe, second only to the Mona Lisa’s tiny frame in the Louvre. If you go there at 10:00 AM on a Tuesday, you aren't just taking a photo of a statue; you’re fighting for elbow room against three tour buses worth of people. It’s a strange phenomenon. Why do we care so much about a bronze lady sitting on a rock?
The Story Behind the Shot
The statue wasn't a government project or a grand patriotic monument. It was actually commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he was the son of the founder of Carlsberg brewery. He was obsessed with the arts. After watching a ballet based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Little Mermaid at the Royal Danish Theatre, he was so moved by the performance of prima ballerina Ellen Price that he asked sculptor Edvard Eriksen to create the bronze.
Here’s a bit of trivia most people miss: Ellen Price agreed to model for the head, but she refused to pose nude. Eriksen had to ask his wife, Eline, to model for the body. So, when you look at a little mermaid statue photo, you’re actually looking at a composite of two different women.
It was unveiled on August 23, 1913. Since then, it’s basically become the sacrificial lamb of political protest and bored vandals.
Why Your Little Mermaid Photo Might Look Different Depending on the Year
If you look back through historical archives, the statue hasn’t always been "whole." It has been through absolute hell. It’s arguably the most vandalized monument in modern history.
In 1964, the head was sawn off and stolen. It was never recovered, and a new one had to be cast from the original molds. Then it happened again in 1998. This time, the culprits returned it anonymously to a TV station. In 1984, she lost an arm. In 2003, someone actually used explosives to blow her off the rock entirely. Imagine being the tourist who showed up that morning only to find an empty rock and some scrap metal.
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She’s been covered in red paint to protest whaling. She’s been draped in a burqa. She’s had a dildo attached to her hand.
Basically, the little mermaid statue photo is a canvas for whatever Copenhagen is mad about that week. Every time it happens, the city spends thousands of kroner on restoration, but they refuse to move her further away from the shore or put up a massive fence. There’s something very Danish about that—keeping it accessible, even if people are terrible.
The Technical Struggle: How to Actually Get a Good Picture
If you just walk up and snap a photo, it’s going to look like every other mediocre tourist shot on the internet. You'll have the back of someone’s head in the bottom left, a gray sky, and maybe a giant cruise ship in the background. The lighting at Langelinie is notoriously harsh because it’s right on the water with zero shade.
To get a shot that actually looks professional, you have to play the long game.
Timing is everything. Sunrise is the only way to go. Most of the tour groups start arriving by 9:00 AM. If you get there at 6:00 AM, the sun rises over the Øresund, hitting the bronze and giving it a warm, metallic glow instead of that flat, dull green it has in the afternoon. Plus, you’ll be the only person there, save for a few local joggers who couldn't care less about the statue.
Angle and Perspective
Don't stand on the path. You’ve gotta get down low. If you crouch near the water level, you can angle the camera upward, making the mermaid look like she’s actually staring out at the sea rather than looking at a parking lot. This also helps crop out the industrial cranes of the Copenhagen harbor that sit directly across the water. Using a wide aperture (like $f/2.8$ or $f/4$) helps blur out the distracting background elements and keeps the focus on the texture of the bronze.
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The Copyright Trap No One Tells You About
This is where things get genuinely complicated for professional photographers. While the statue is over 100 years old, the heirs of Edvard Eriksen are famously protective. Under Danish law, copyright lasts for 70 years after the creator's death. Eriksen died in 1959.
Do the math.
His estate still claims copyright on images of the statue until 2029. This has led to some pretty wild lawsuits. A Danish newspaper, Berlingske, was actually fined about $43,000 for using a photo of the statue in a satirical context. Even a local souvenir shop got in trouble for selling items that looked too much like the original work.
For a regular person posting a little mermaid statue photo on Instagram, you're fine. Nobody is coming for your lunch money. But if you’re a professional looking to use that photo in an advertisement or a book, you’re walking into a legal minefield. It’s one of the few landmarks in the world where "freedom of panorama" is a legal gray area that leans heavily toward the estate.
The "Genetically Modified" Little Mermaid
If you walk a few hundred meters further down the pier, you’ll find something most tourists miss entirely. It’s called the "Genetically Modified Little Mermaid." It’s part of a larger sculpture group by Bjørn Nørgaard.
It’s weird. It’s distorted. It’s a commentary on biotechnology and the post-modern world.
While the "real" mermaid is dainty and classic, this one is skeletal and twisted. Most people walk right past it, but honestly, it’s a much more interesting photo subject if you want to avoid the clichés. It captures the modern spirit of Copenhagen—a city that respects its history but is also a bit cynical and obsessed with the future.
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Hans Christian Andersen vs. Disney
We can’t talk about this photo without acknowledging the "Disneyfication" of the story. If you’ve only seen the 1989 movie, you might be wondering why the statue looks so sad.
In Andersen's original 1837 story, the mermaid doesn't marry the prince. He marries someone else. She is given a knife and told that if she kills the prince and lets his blood drip on her feet, she can become a mermaid again. She chooses to die instead, dissolving into sea foam.
The statue captures that specific moment of melancholy. She isn't a bubbly teenager looking for a husband; she’s a tragic figure who lost her voice and her soul for a man who didn't even recognize her sacrifice. When you take a little mermaid statue photo, you're capturing that existential dread. It’s not a "happily ever after" monument.
Making the Most of Your Visit
If you’re heading to Copenhagen, don’t make the mermaid your only stop. It’s a 10-minute experience at most. The real value is the walk from Nyhavn to Langelinie. You’ll pass the Royal Palace (Amalienborg) and the Kastellet, a star-shaped fortress that is incredibly well-preserved.
A few quick tips for your visit:
- Rent a bike. Don't take a taxi. Copenhagen is a bike city, and the path along the water is perfect for it.
- Look for the "Little Mermaid" on Google Maps, but follow the crowd. You’ll see the huddle of people before you see the statue.
- Check the cruise ship schedule. If there are three massive ships docked at the pier, the area will be a nightmare. Visit on days when the port is quiet.
- Don't climb on the rock. It’s slippery, the water is cold, and the locals will judge you. Hard.
The little mermaid statue photo is a rite of passage for travelers. It might be small, it might be crowded, and it might have a complicated legal history, but it remains the soul of Copenhagen’s waterfront. It represents a story that has survived for nearly two centuries, reminding us that even the most delicate things can endure a century of vandalism and change.
To make your trip worth it, plan to arrive at the Langelinie pier at least 30 minutes before sunrise. Bring a camera with a decent zoom lens so you can capture the details of the bronze without having to jump over the barricades. After you get your shot, walk five minutes south to the St. Alban’s Church and the Gefion Fountain—they are arguably more impressive than the mermaid herself and far less crowded for secondary photos. If you are worried about the copyright issues for a commercial project, consult with a Danish intellectual property expert before publishing, as the Eriksen estate remains active until the end of 2029.