Agnete and the Merman Statue

A hidden folklore scene beneath Højbro Bridge

Standing on Højbro Bridge, you could almost overlook one of Copenhagen’s most quietly powerful artworks. Just below you, on the floor of the Slotsholm Canal, a bronze merman and his seven sons stand on a submerged platform, their forms wavering through the water. Installed in 1992 by sculptor, photographer and author Suste Bonnén, the group transforms a busy city thoroughfare into a stage for an age‑old story. The figures belong to the Danish ballad "Agnete og Havmanden" – Agnete and the Merman – a tale passed down orally for generations. Here, rather than being placed on a plinth, the sculpture sinks into the canal itself, so that the line between the human world above and the mythical realm below becomes part of the artwork’s meaning.

A folk ballad of choice, faith and loss

In the legend, a young woman named Agnete is approached by a merman emerging from the sea. Drawn by impulsive love, she follows him beneath the waves, where they build a life together and have seven sons. For a time, all is well in this underwater home. Then, one day, the sound of distant church bells from the shore reaches Agnete, stirring memories of the world she left behind. She returns to land to visit her old life, promising to come back. Faced with the pull of familiar customs and faith, Agnete ultimately chooses not to descend again. The merman and their children are abandoned below the surface, left to yearn for the mother who never returns, embodying themes of divided loyalty, spiritual conflict and the cost of human choices.

Bronze figures shaped by the water itself

Bonnén’s figures are deliberately placed just below the surface, so ripples and reflections distort their outlines. Some of the sons stretch their arms upwards, others cover their faces, while the merman gazes toward the bridge. The canal water becomes an ever‑moving lens, alternately concealing and revealing their anguish as light and weather shift during the day. After dark, underwater lighting often bathes the group in greenish or golden tones, giving the scene an otherworldly glow. Moss, algae and drifting reeds slowly soften the bronze, reinforcing the impression that you are glimpsing a story that has been unfolding for centuries in the depths.

Mythic neighbors in Copenhagen’s political heart

The location is no accident. The sculpture lies beside Christiansborg Palace and the historic island of Slotsholmen, at the symbolic centre of Danish political power. This juxtaposition of parliament, palace and underwater folklore hints at how deeply myth and storytelling are woven into national identity. From the bridge you also look out to the spires and façades of Indre By, with boats sliding past just above the statues. Tour vessels frequently glide over the group, their wake briefly blurring the view before the canal settles again and the mer‑family reappears, as if surfacing from another realm.

A quiet pause amid the city’s bustle

Visiting Agnete and the Merman is less about ticking off a major sight and more about taking a contemplative pause in the city’s historic core. You may find yourself waiting for the water to still or the light to shift so that a child’s hand, a bowed head or the merman’s outstretched arm suddenly comes into focus. Spring and summer bring longer light and softer reflections on the canal, while crisp winter air and bare trees add a starker, almost monochrome mood to the scene. Whatever the season, this modest artwork invites you to slow your pace, listen to the murmur of traffic and water, and spend a few minutes with a story of love, faith and longing that has drifted through Danish culture for centuries.