The Little Mermaid statue defaced with Russian flag

[veu]

Source: www.politico.eu/article/vandalism-russia-flag-denmark-little-mermaid-statue/

Little Mermaid statue defaced with Russian flag
Copenhagen police probe for clues around historic tourist attraction.


"This is an act of vandalism," Copenhagen police said | Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images
BY WILHELMINE PREUSSEN
MARCH 2, 2023 11:33 AM CET
1 MINUTE READ

Denmark’s famous “Little Mermaid” statue woke up with new colors Thursday morning, as the stone she sits on was painted with a Russian flag.

“This is an act of vandalism,” Copenhagen police said, confirming that they have started an investigation. “No one has been arrested so far,” the police said, adding that they are probing for clues at the scene, according to Danish media.

Pictures taken at 7 a.m. Thursday show the stone daubed with the Russian flag.

Both the Little Mermaid and the stone she sits on have been repeatedly vandalized over the years. She has been doused with blue paint and a Nazi symbol was painted on the stone last year.

The Little Mermaid was created by sculptor Edvard Eriksen in 1913 and given as a gift to Copenhagen by brewer Carl Jacobsen. The small and rather unimposing statue is a Copenhagen icon and has been a major tourist attraction since its unveiling in 1913.[/i]

[veu]

Source: www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/02/little-mermaid-denmark-vandalised-colours-russian-flag

Little Mermaid in Denmark vandalised with colours of Russian flag
Copenhagen police open investigation into statue’s defacement seen as support for Moscow in war in Ukraine

Agence France-Presse
Thu 2 Mar 2023 11.08 GMT

The Little Mermaid is inspired by a character from a fairytale by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Photograph: Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty

The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, one of Denmark’s most notable landmarks, has been vandalised with a Russian flag painted across its base.

The colours of the red, white and blue ensign were daubed overnight on Thursday on the rock on which the statue of the heroine from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale rests.

Copenhagen police said they had attended the scene and recorded “a case of vandalism” and that they were trying to find “traces” in the area.

An investigation has been opened into the act seen as a sign of support for Moscow in the war in Ukraine.

A few puzzled tourists photographed the vandalised statue on Thursday morning.

The Little Mermaid, inspired by a character in the Danish author Andersen’s 1837 fairytale of the same name, is a 175kg (385lb) statue by the sculptor Edvard Eriksen.

People gather for photos next to the Little Mermaid sculpture vandalised with colours of the Russian flag in Langelinie, Copenhagen, Denmark. Photograph: Ritzau Scanpix/Reuters

The statue, which sits in the relatively secluded harbour of Langelinie in Copenhagen, has been vandalised numerous times. The mermaid’s head was stolen in 1964, and her arm cut off in 1984. In 1998, vandals removed her head again, but it was later returned, before the statue was blown up in 2003.

The statue has been tagged and painted many times, most recently in 2020 with the mysterious inscription “racist fish”.

[veu]

Source: www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-flag-painted-base-denmarks-little-mermaid-statue-2023-03-02/

Russian flag painted on base of Denmark's "Little Mermaid" statue
Reuters
The Little Mermaid statue is seen with the Russian flag painted on it, in Copenhagen


A statue of 'The Little Mermaid' is seen, created by the sculptor Edvard Eriksen and modeled after his wife, Eline, with the Russian flag painted on the stone she sits on, in Langelinie, Copenhagen, Denmark March 2, 2023. Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS

COPENHAGEN, March 2 (Reuters) - A Russian flag was discovered painted onto the base of Denmark's "The Little Mermaid" statue on Thursday in what police said was a "case of vandalism" at Copenhagen's most famous landmark and a popular tourist attraction.

It was not immediately known who was behind the incident, a police spokesperson said.

Denmark has been a vocal critic of Russia alongside other Western nations following last year's invasion of Ukraine.

The 110-year-old bronze statue depicts the little mermaid from 19th-century Danish author Hans Christian Andersen's tale of the same name, and is sat on a rock by a waterside promenade.

The white, blue and red stripes of the Russian flag were painted across the front of the stone.


A statue of 'The Little Mermaid' is seen, created by the sculptor Edvard Eriksen and modeled after his wife, Eline, with the Russian flag painted on the stone she sits on, in Langelinie, Copenhagen, Denmark March 2, 2023. Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS

[2/5] People gather for photos next to the Little Mermaid sculpture that was vandalized with colours painted of the Russian flag in Langelinie, Copenhagen, Denmark March 2, 2023. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERSRead less


A woman poses for a photo next to the Little Mermaid sculpture that was vandalized with colours painted of the Russian flag in Langelinie, Copenhagen, Denmark March 2, 2023. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS


People gather for photos next to the Little Mermaid sculpture that was vandalized with colours painted of the Russian flag in Langelinie, Copenhagen, Denmark March 2, 2023. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS


A person takes a picture of a statue of 'The Little Mermaid', created by the sculptor Edvard Eriksen and modeled after his wife, Eline, with the Russian flag painted on the stone she sits on, in what police said was a "case of vandalism", in Langelinie, Copenhagen, Denmark March 2, 2023. Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS[/i

[buckmana]

They still haven't put that statue under heavier security?

I am, quite honestly, floundergasted they haven't learned their lesson, since the statue is always being vandalised somehow.

Security cameras, angry orcas, whatever it takes to keep the vandals away would be practical at this time.