These statues represent the characters of children's tales
Your parents, grandparents and grandparents used fairy tales to tell you stories in your bed to fall asleep. These stories have entertained children, inspired by writers, and found an important place in contemporary culture. Many fairy tale characters have been immortalized by statues which stand on public squares, in gardens a little everywhere in the world. Toolito takes you around the world in search of most famous statues representing the characters of the magical world of fairy tales.
The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen
Flickr – News Oresund
statue of the Little Mermaid (or Little Mermaid ) is located on the Langelinie promenade, in Churchill Park, Copenhagen in Denmark. The bronze statue, whose size is close to that of a human, sits on a rock by the water. Inspired by the tale Hans Christian Andersen (1837), the small statue, little imposing, is an icon of the city, and has been a major tourist attraction since 1913 in the Danish capital.
Flickr – Judith
The statue has suffered vandalism many times during its 100 years of existence . She was painted several times, had her right amputee arm, was decapitated three times, and was even pushed from her rock in 2003. Twice, it was dressed with a burqa and a dildo was even attached to the hand of the statue. Fortunately, every time, the statue was restored. In 2006, the city of Copenhagen announced that the statue would be moved further into the harbour, in order to avoid other acts of vandalism and prevent tourists from climbing on the statue. But this has not yet been done...
Fremont troll in Seattle
Flickr – Dale Matteson
The troll de Fremont (or Fremont Troll ) is a concrete sculpture of 5.5 meters high that is found under the George Washington Memorial Bridge (also called Aurora Bridge). The troll crushes in its left hand a Volkswagen Coccinelle, carrying a license plate from California, as if it had just slipped from the road. This statue is based on the Norwegian tale "The Three Bumpered Goats" ( The Three Billy Goats Gruff de Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe ) and was built by four artists from the region Seattle 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 turn his eye (sympa).
"Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens" in London
Flickr – Amanda Slater
A bronze statue Peter Pan , "the boy who didn't want to grow" is in the Kensington Gardens, next to Hyde Park, London . The exact location was chosen by the creator of Peter Pan, J. Mr. Barrie . He lived close to Kensington Gardens and published his first news about Peter Pan in 1902, inspired by the park. In his tale of Peter Pan, "The Little White Bird" ( The Little White Bird ), Peter flies away from his room next to the lake Long Water towards the place where the statue now stands.
Flickr – Amanda Slater
Barrie began thinking about Peter Pan's statue in 1906. He took pictures of a 6-year-old, Michael Llewelyn Davies, wearing a Peter Pan suit to help the sculptor recreate what he saw. In 1912 he finally found the person who would make the statue, Sir George Frampton , and on May 1st of that same year, the sculpture was in place in the Kensington Gardens.
Alice in Wonderland in Central Park in New York
Flickr – Matthew X. Kiernan
Probably the most beloved sculpture of Central Park , in New York, it is a bronze illustration of a group of characters from the classic Lewis Carroll "Alice in Wonderland" (1865). The sculpture was not modeled from the original illustrations of John Tenniel that were used in the first published edition of the book. The obvious masterpiece of the work, Alice, representing the face of the daughter of José de Creeft (the sculptor), Donna, is presented sitting on a giant mushroom looking towards a pocket watch held by the White Rabbit. Appearing above Alice’s shoulder is the cat of Cheshire, and around it the Loir, the cat of Alice Dinah, and the Crazy Chapel. The statue stands at 3.35 m high and the children are invited to climb up to reach Alice and her friends.
"Make Way for Ducklings", Boston
Flickr – Karim Rezk
The statue of the Make way for Ducklings ("Make Place for the Canetons") representing Ms. Mallard (the mother) and her eight-pink-hole is an attraction found in the Boston Public Garden . The statues are based on the story for children written by Robert McCloskey and published in 1941. The book follows a couple of colvert ducks who choose an island in the park lagoon Boston as a place to raise their family.
The Musicians of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Flickr – Shih-Pei Chang
The Musicians of Bremen of the tale Brother Grimm of 1857 were immortalized in bronze on the west side of the town hall of Bremen. The donkey, dog, cat and cock have been there since 1951. In the tale, the animals leave their masters wanting to get rid of it, in search of a free life. They choose Bremen for destination but discover on the way a house inhabited by thieves. They get rid of them by scaring them: every animal gets on the back of the other and the thieves run away. It is this scene that the sculptor Gerhard Marcks illustrated.
Hamelin flute player in Hamelin, Germany
Flickr – WrldVoyagr
Located on the Weser river in Lower Saxony, Germany, the city Hamelin was made famous by the medieval history which tells a tragedy that fell on the city in the thirteenth century. According to legend, in 1284 the city was infested with rats. An all-colored man appeared and decided to get rid of rats in exchange for a thousand epic payment. The man played the flute to attract rats to the Weser River and thus kill them. Despite its success, the inhabitants refused to pay the deratizer and threw it with stones. The man left the city angry, but promised to return some time later, seeking revenge. On the day of the Saints John and Paul (June 26), while the inhabitants were in the church, he played his flute again, to attract the children of Hamelin this time. One hundred and thirty boys and girls followed him out of town and the parents never saw them again. Everywhere in the city there are references to this tale.
Do you know other statues that represent the characters of children’s tales?
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