The sculpture of mythological Viking hero Holger Danske looks set to remain in familiar territory after Helsingør Council's financial committee decided yesterday to reach out to the statue's owner, Hotel Marienlyst, in an effort to keep the sculpture within council limits and thus end the drama of the last few weeks.
Holger Danske enjoyed a surge in popularity after it was announced last week that the statue would be sold, prompting nationalists to decry the notion of it ending up in foreign hands.
The statue was listed for sale by the hotel for a million-kroner figure, a figure which authorities were initially unwilling to pay. It was then offered to the highest bidder on the popular online auction site, Lauritz.com, before the site was forced to cancel all bids thanks to the actions of 'Monte Carlo' programme on DR’s P3 radio channel.
The mayor of Helsingør, Johannes Hecht-Nielsen (Venstre), had earlier proclaimed that he was upset at losing the estimated 2.5 million-kroner valued sculpture and he said is pleased that the council will now go back to the council to see if a mutually-beneficial solution can be found.
“Naturally, it means that I will be contacting Hotel Marienlyst in order to discuss an eventual acquisition. Other then that, I don’t have any comment,” Hecht-Nielsen told Helsingør Dagblad newspaper.
