Your parents, grandparents, and great grandparents used fairy tales to tell you stories in bed to put you to sleep. These stories have entertained children, inspired writers, and found an important place in contemporary culture. Many fairy tale characters have been immortalized by statues that stand in public squares and gardens all over the world. Let’s takes you around the world in search of the most famous statues depicting characters from the magical world of fairy tales.
The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen
The Little Mermaid statue is located on Langelinie Promenade, Churchill Park, Copenhagen , Denmark. The bronze statue, close to the size of a human, sits on a rock at the water’s edge. Inspired by the tale by Hans Christian Andersen (1837), the small, unimposing statue is an icon of the city, and has been a major tourist attraction since 1913 in the Danish capital.
The statue has suffered vandalism numerous times over its 100-year history . She was painted several times, had her right arm amputated, was decapitated three times, and was even pushed off a rock in 2003. Twice she was dressed in a burqa. Fortunately, each time, the statue has been restored. In 2006, the city of Copenhagen announced that the statue would be moved further into the harbor, in order to prevent further vandalism and to prevent tourists from climbing the statue. But this has not yet been done…
The Fremont Troll in Seattle
The Fremont Troll (or Fremont Troll ) is a 5.5 meter high concrete sculpture found under the George Washington Memorial Bridge (also called the Aurora Bridge). The troll crushes a Volkswagen Beetle, bearing a California license plate, in his left hand, as if it had just slipped off the road. This statue is based on the Norwegian tale “The Three Billy Goats Gruff ” by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe and was built by four Seattle -area artists for the Fremont Arts Council in 1990. to rehabilitate a particularly ugly area in the neighborhood. Visitors are invited to climb on him or try to poke his eye out (nice).
“Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens” in London
A bronze statue of Peter Pan , “the boy who wouldn’t grow up”, stands in Kensington Gardens, next to Hyde Park, London . The exact location was chosen by Peter Pan creator JM Barrie . The latter lived near Kensington Gardens and published his first story about Peter Pan in 1902, taking inspiration from the park. In his Peter Pan tale, “The Little White Bird” , Peter flies from his room next to Long Water Lake towards where the statue now sits.
Barrie began thinking about the Peter Pan statue in 1906. He took photos of a 6-year-old child, Michael Llewelyn Davies, wearing a Peter Pan costume to help the sculptor recreate what he was seeing. In 1912 he finally found the person who would make the statue, Sir George Frampton , and by May 1 of that year the sculpture was in place in Kensington Gardens.
Alice in Wonderland in Central Park in New York
Probably the most beloved sculpture in New York’s Central Park , it is a bronze illustration of a group of characters from Lewis Carroll ‘s classic “Alice in Wonderland” (1865). The sculpture was not modeled after John Tenniel’s original illustrations that were used in the first published edition of the book. The obvious centerpiece of the work, Alice, which represents the face of José de Creeft ‘s (the sculptor) daughter Donna, is shown sitting on a giant mushroom looking towards a pocket watch held by the White Rabbit. Appearing over Alice’s shoulder is the Cheshire Cat, and around her the Dormouse, Alice’s cat Dinah, and the Mad Hatter. The statue stands 3.35m high and children are invited to climb on top to join Alice and her friends.
“Make Way for Ducklings” in Boston
The Make Way for Ducklings statue of Mrs. Mallard (the mother) and her brood of eight ducklings is an attraction found in the Boston Public Garden . The statues are based on the children’s story written by Robert McCloskey and published in 1941. The book follows a pair of mallards who choose an island in the lagoon of Boston Park as a place to raise their family.
The Bremen Musicians, in Bremen, Germany
The Bremen Musicians from the 1857 Brothers Grimm fairy tale are immortalized in bronze on the west side of Bremen Town Hall. The donkey, the dog, the cat and the rooster have been there since 1951. In the story, the animals leave their masters wanting to get rid of them, in search of a free life. They choose Bremen as their destination but on the way discover a house inhabited by thieves. They get rid of them by scaring them: each animal climbs on the back of the other and the thieves flee. It is this scene that the sculptor Gerhard Marcks illustrated.
The Pied Piper of Hamelin in Hamelin, Germany
Located on the Weser River in Lower Saxony, Germany, the town of Hamelin was made famous by the medieval story that recounts a tragedy that befell the town in the 13th century. According to legend, in 1284 the city was infested with rats. A colorfully dressed man appeared and decided to get rid of the rats in exchange for a payment of a thousand crowns.
The man played the flute to lure the rats into the Weser River and thus kill them. Despite his success, the residents refused to pay the pest control and chased him away with stones. The man left the city in anger, but promised to return some time later, seeking revenge. On the day of Saints John and Paul (June 26), while the inhabitants were in church, he played his flute again, this time to attract the children of Hamelin. One hundred and thirty boys and girls followed him out of town and the parents never saw them again. All over the city there are references to this tale.