Geffion Springvand•Copenhagen

Near to The Little Mermaid we come across a beautiful fountain, Geffion Springvand. This is one of the largest monuments in Copenhagen and it depicts an ancient legend telling us how Zealand (the isle where East coast of Copenhagen lies) came into existence.

According to an ancient legend, the Swedish King offered the goddess Gefion as much land she could plough in a single evening from an area in Sweden. Gefion transformed her four sons into powerful oxen, ploughed an area of land and pulled it into the sea. This left a huge hole in Sweden, where Lake Vanern is located and the outline of Zealand matches quite well the outline of Lake Vanern.

The Gefion fountain is a monument where Gefion swings her whip over the oxen. The backs of the oxen swell under the strain and water sprays up from behind the wheels and the plough. This gives an incredible feature of strength and fortitude. It’s really a beautiful and splendid place.

09/07/2006•Copenhagen•Denmark