Gefion fountain

The Gefion fountain (Gefionspringvandet) is a large fountain on the harbour front in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The fountain was designed by Danish artist Anders Bundgård , and built in 1908. The fountain was donated to the city of Copenhagen by the Carlsberg Foundation. It was supposed to be located in the main town square outside city hall, but was instead built near the Citadel (Kastellet) on the harbour front. The fountain depicts the mythical story of the creation of the island of Zealand on which Copenhagen is located. Supposedly the Swedish king had promised Gefyon, a norse goddess, the territory she could plow in a night. She turned her four sons into oxen, and the territory they plowed out of the earth was then thrown into the sea between Sweden and the island of Fyn in Denmark. The story may come from the fact that the Swedish lake of Vänern corresponds roughly to the size and shape of Zealand.

The fountain underwent extensive renovations from 1999. It was re-inaugurated in September 2004.