Indian Elephant

On Amagertorv this Indian inspired elephant sits with it's back to the Stork Fountain.

Super Hero Elephant

The Super Hero elephant here on Højbro Plads seems ready to storm the Danish Parliament. Maybe he too is tired of the idiocy coming from there...

Red, Blue and Green

I just love the eyes on this elephant's leg.

Hunting the Elephants

For now I'm back on the blog and many thanks to Ricco for his participation. He might make an appearance again before long:-)

As Ricco has told, Copenhagen has been invaded by a lot of elephants this summer, 103 of them to be exact. And it's not because the climate changes has moved their habitat to northern Europe. No, these elephants are made of fibreglass and decorated by various artists before they were placed around the city. They are part of the Copenhagen Elephant Parade 2011 which, like the ones in London and Milan, are going to be auctioned off and the money used for the elephants in Asia. I'll show you some of these elephants in the next couple of weeks, just pictures and perhaps very short texts. Today's elephant with the Danish flag on is overlooking the entrance to Tivoli from the central station.

In Prison

The message of the plight of these animals are very aptly described in this artist, Janni Mai Larsen's work entitled "In prison". It is placed near the parliament buildings on Nikolaj Plads.

What's Up?

Approximately 150,000 Asian elephants have died within the past 25 years and today there are fewer than 35,000 of these animals left in all of Asia. These brightly coloured and fantastic pieces of art brings the message of conservation to Europe.

Asian Lady on an Asian Elephant

Children happily interact with the exhibition and this young lady seems very happy to be riding an elephant. In her lifetime, however, the real ones are in serious danger of becoming extinct and this exhibition helps to create awareness of their plight. In the last 100 years, the number of Asian elephants in existence has fallen by 90%.

Indian Elephant in an Indian Garb

This elephant is near Nyhavn and is visited by thousands of tourists. The Asian elephant and the Asian themes depicted on it makes for a colourful display.

Mosha the World at your Feet
Kunstner: Jane Veveris Callan
Sponsor: Zoo København
Placering: Nyhavn

On Israels Plads

On Israels Plads this colourful and happy-looking elephant is passed daily by many people including these school children. The message of conservation is taken up seriously by Danes both old and young.

Brilliantly coloured in Kongens Have

In the King's Garden (Kongens Have) near the centre of town four elephants have taken up residence. They attract particular attention as this park is frequented by thousands of people everyday.

In Need of a Hand

This visually pleasing creation is entitled The Human Elephant by Kristian Funder-Nielsen. It is one of the four elephants which are grazing in Kongens Have and, when the photograph was taken, was desperately looking for a sponsor!

Ceramics

This, my favourite elephant, is placed in front of the university buildings in the Latin Quarter of the city. It looks to be in the same colours as the world-famous Royal Copenhagen ceramics and is striking in its simplicity.

Elmer

This little elephant was placed on Nørrebrogade near the lakes. Quite why it seems unhappy becomes apparent when one reads about the plight of the Asian elephants. The exhibition aims at creating awareness about this.

Flag Day Elephant

Elephant Parade is a great art concept to help save the Asian elephant from exctinction. This one is placed near the lakes in Copenhagen on a day when the flags were flown.

Charity at Work

Elephant Family is a hugely ambitious charity working to save the Asian elephant from extinction in the wild. It was made possible by hundreds of artists from all over the world and corporate sponsor's involvement. This one was lovingly put under some lime trees on Kongens Nytorv in the centre of Copenhagen.

Tourist Attraction

A tourist taking a photo of an elephant near the fanous Nyhavn section of Copenhagen. This is one of the 103 elephants which can be seen throughout the city this summer.

Dancer's Elephant

In front of the Royal Opera House this beautifully adorned elephant looks out onto Kongens Nytorv. The Royal Opera put some of their principal dancers on the elephant.

Biggest Exhibition in Copenhagen

This elephant looks positively brimming with all the attention it is getting! The exhibition is the single biggest one held to date in Copenhagen and 103 elephants have been placed all over the capital.

Details

The detail on some of the elephants on the Elephant Parade is quite astonishing. This one, on Kongens Nytorv, is visited daily by hundreds of walkers-by.

Writing on the Elephant

Near the Little Mermaid statue there is a small harbour and this elephant made itself at home there.

Too Young

Too young to fully grasp the important message conveyed by the Elephant Parade, this youngster nonetheless enjoyed playing around it!

Elephant Family

Elephant Family is a hugely ambitious charity working to save the Asian elephant from extinction in the wild. It was made possible by hundreds of artists from all over the world and corporate sponsor's involvement. This one was lovingly put under some lime trees on Kongens Nytorv in the centre of Copenhagen.

Elephant Parade

A few weeks ago brightly painted elephants pushed their way into Copenhagen life when they took up residence in neighbourhoods and landmarks over the capital. This one is being admired near the Langelinie are which is home to The Little Mermaid and the Gefion waterfountain (background).

Parken and S-train

The nearest train station from the ferry port is about 10 minutes walk but a bus service and taxis also take the visitor to Copenhagen onwards to the city's many attractions which includes and can be seen in this photograph, the home to FC København, Parken.

Nordhavn

Nordhavn came into existence at the end of the 19th century. It was reclaimed in order to meet the requirements for more space made by a growing harbour industry and increasing shipping trade. Today big plans are afoot to develop this area into a residential and commercial hub. In the foreground, the eastern part of the harbour, the new United Nations offices are being built. This project partially finances the extensions currently being undertaken of the underground metro rail network.

Trekroner

Trekroner Søfort (literally "Three Crowns Sea Fortress") is a fortification at the entrance to the Copenhagen harbour. In the background can be seen the Øresunds bridge which links the Swedish city, Malmø to Copenhagen.

Containers and new cars

Currently the harbour has a strong mix of activities: ferry harbour, a fishing harbour, a small craft harbour, carriers, ship chandlers and scrap dealers make up its residents. Here some of the activities can be seen as well as brand new vehicles imported from all over the world.

New development

In the course of the next 40 to 50 years Copenhagen’s Nordhavn will be transformed into a completely new sustainable quarter. This area will supposedly be carbon negative and will be a mixture of commercial and residential development. So far this is the biggest and most ambitious town development project in Scandinavia comprising about 300 ha on 11 islets.

Windfarm and way to Malmø

In this view from the deck of the ferry one can see two technoligical advances which have come to symbolise Scandinavia: the ubiquitous wind farms and the Øresunds bridge. The bridge connects Sweden and Denmark, and it is the longest road and rail bridge in Europe. It opened in July 2000.

Middelgrunds Fort

This view of Middelgrunds Fort shows the sheer size of this artificial island, created in 1890 and the port area which allows for maritime activity. It is 70,000 square meters big, took 2.5 million tons of solid granite to create and its fortress has 200 rooms with almost 4 kilometres of hallways. It is for sale and if you have a spare EUR 6,800,000 lying around this exclusive hideaway can be yours!

Middelgrunds Fort with windfarm

Midlesgrunds Fort is the largest artificial island in the world and was created by King Christian IX in 1890. It boasts unique natural beauty and bird life as well as a well-preserved fortification. It is a cultural gem and is a protected heritage item of Denmark. In recent years, the fortress has primarily served as a hotel, seminar and conference venue.