The Little Mermaid, Copenhagen, Denmark

There's a very unique place in Copenhagen, in this city lives a Little Mermaid who sits on a rock by the waterside along the Langelinie promenade. Every day she swims to the surface from the bottom of the sea in the hope to see her beloved one.

This magnificent 100-year-old sculpture of bronze and granite created by Edvard Eriksen was inspired by the fairy-tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen about a little mermaid who fell in love with a handsome prince. 

The 385-pound statue was a gift to the city from Carl Jacobsen, a Danish brewer who was captivated by the character after watching a ballet performance based on the fairy tale at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen.

It is believed that the head of the statue was modeled after Ellen Price, a Danish ballerina who played the principal role of the Little Mermaid in the ballet performance mentioned. However, since she was not willing to pose in the nude, the sculptor's wife, Eline Eriksen, modeled for the sculpture.

Today, the Little Mermaid is an icon of the city and a major tourist attraction with a growing number of people coming to catch a glimpse of her still waiting ashore for her prince.