DENMARK: The famous Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, one of Denmark’s most iconic landmarks, has been vandalised overnight Thursday and painted with a Russian flag across its base.
The colours of the white, blue, and red ensign were daubed on the rock on which the statue of Little Mermaid, the heroine from Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale sits.
According to Copenhagen police, they responded to the location, documented “a case of vandalism,” and were looking for “traces” in the area.
A probe has been launched into the act, perceived as a sign of support for Russia in the conflict in Ukraine.
On Thursday morning, a few perplexed visitors took pictures of the vandalised statue.
The Little Mermaid, a 175-kilogram (385-lb) statue designed by sculptor Edvard Eriksen, is based on a character in Danish author Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale of the same name.
The statue, which is located in Copenhagen’s Langelinie Harbor, has endured numerous acts of vandalism.
In 1964, the mermaid’s head was stolen, and in 1984, her arm was cut off. Her head was once again stolen by vandals in 1998, but it was later returned before the statue was destroyed in 2003.
The most recent painting and tagging of the statue was in 2020 with the cryptic text “racist fish.”
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