Today's post covers Kastellet in Copenhagen. For those who have been to Copenhagen and have decided to seek out "The Little Mermaid" sculpture in the city, they may recognise this park and these beautiful red buildings that make up the park; it is actually a fortress. The park is designed in a star shape, and it is one of the only star-shaped fortresses in existence in Europe today. The park is open to the public but is also still used for military activities. The area was constructed in the mid-1600s.
The park contains the red buildings, a windmill, a church, and several bastions that make up the walls and earthworks. The whole park is surrounded by a moat.
In the autumn and at the end of October (my visit was at the end of October but a few days too soon), outdoor concerts are conducted here for the birthday of the buildings. There are also summer concerts.
The Little Mermaid sculpture can be explored, though it is very tiny and on the edge of the water near Kastellet. Not far away is a land-version of the mermaid sculpture with a larger anatomy. The Little Mermaid is based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, and it was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, whose father founded Carlsberg; he had been fascinated by the ballet and wanted the ballerina to become the model for the statue. She agreed, but she did not agree to the nudity, so that was modelled on the sculptor's wife. The statue was completed in 1913 in bronze by Edvard Eriksen. It sits a few steps away from the shore, but it has been vandalised several times and tourists have started to climb onto it to get photographs now.
The Kastellet is a very attractive area to visit in the autumn as the trees look stunning next to the red architecture.
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