The Gefion fountain is one of the largest monument in Copenhagen. It was created in 1908 on the Southern side of Langelinje (the cruise harbour).
The Gefjun Fountain depicts an ancient Danish legend of how Zealand (or Sjælland, of which Copenhagen is part of) came into existence.
It was said that a long, long time ago, Swedish King Gylfe gave a promise to Gefjun . She had one day and one night to plough as much land as she can manage, and the land that has been plolughed after one day will become hers.
To maximise 'efficiency', she turned her four sons into oxens and put them in front of a great plough.
During that day, Gefjun and her four sons managed to get the earth to create the island of Zealand. Co-incidentally, the land mass and shape of Zealand is similar to the largest lake (Vanern) in Sweden!
We also went to see the Little Mermaid statue that day. The Little Mermaid statue was a present from brewer Carl Jacobsen (son of the founder of the Carlsberg Breweries) to the city of Copenhagen
The figure might look peaceful sitting there. However, it has had some pretty bad experience.
In the past 40 years, she has been beheaded, decapitated and vandalised. She has had a bra and knickers painted on her, has been entirely covered in paint on more than one occasion, and has had her right arm and her head cut off. Poor thing!
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