The Nyhavn area of Copenhagen (top picture) is a 17th century waterfront, canal and popular entertainment district. It was constructed by King Christian V from 1670-73 and dug by Swedish war prisoners. Danish author Hans Christian Andersen lived in the red house for 18 years while writing many of his children's stories.
The little mermaid statue was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen son of the founder of Carlsberg beer. He asked the prima ballerina, Ellen Price of Copenhagen’s Royal Theatre Ballet to model for the statue but since she did not agree to appear in the nude, the statue’s head is that of her and the body, that of the sculptor’s wife.
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