‘It’s truly uplifting that many find the statue vulgar,’ one critic wrote.

Photograph: Dimitry Bobroff

Denmark to remove ‘pornographic’ mermaid statue, reports say

Danish agency for palaces and culture requests removal of 14-tonne sculpture from Dragør Fort in Copenhagen

Miranda Bryant Nordic correspondent

Mon 4 Aug 2025 

A debate has erupted in Denmark over the fate of a mermaid statue that is to be removed from public view after being decried as “ugly and pornographic” and “a man’s hot dream of what a woman should look like”.