Copenhagen Statues, Page 1 of 6

We have travelled to New Zealand many times but this is the first time that we have been to the island called Zealand where Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark, is located.  The city started as a Viking fishing village in the 10^th Century and has grown to a population of over two million people.

This day we walked and walked and walked – starting from the ship along the harbour front and seeing lots of statues, starting with the little mermaid.  A long, long time ago I remember as a child seeing a film about Hans Christian Andersen, starring Danny Kaye. One of his stories is about a mermaid becoming human and this little, but famous. Statue depicts this fascinating tale.  As you can see in the pictures that it is still a popular tourist spot.

Another statue that we came across was quite large and imposing and I had not heard of it before – let alone be able to pronounce its name. It is Gefionspringvandet, depicting the mythical creation story of the island of Zealand showing the goddess Gefjun who turned her four sons into oxen to plough the land.  It is also referred in English as the Gefion fountain.

Copenhagen Church, Page 2 of 6

What a surprise!  Next to the fountain, we came across St. Albans church which is part of the Church of England diocese in Europe. We were able to attend a church service which was in heavily accented English.  The message was about the love of God for us, no matter where we are, or even if we feel that we don’t deserve His love.  The church wad built in 1885 and contains fifteen tubular bells.  The religion of the Vikings was old Norse and contained many gods including Odin and Thor. As the Vikings raided and terrorised many parts of Europe they brought back prisoners who became slaves. Many of these prisoners were Christians who shared their faith resulting, eventually, in the Vikings turning to Christianity.

Copenhagen Amalienborg Palace, Page 3 of 6

Continuing our walk from the church towards the centre of the city we came across the Amalienburg palace which is the home of the Danish royal family, include our own Tasmanian, Princess Mary.   

Strangely, this palace was not built for the royal family but was built for, not one, but four noble families. In 1794 the royal palace (Christianborg) burned down and the royal family bought the palaces and moved in!