Scarecrow or a cool girl? That is the question that currently divides the residents of Hudiksvall.
It is about the new four-meter-high Hudiksvallstjejen statue, which will be placed centrally in Hälsingestaden and become a new landmark.
– It looks terrible, I don’t like the statue at all, says Esbjörn Andersson.
The 4-meter-high statue Hudiksvallstjejen, which represents a girl with an owl on her shoulder and branch-like legs and arms, will cost just over 1 million kroner. The statue has stirred quite a stir in the town and a lot has been written on social media and a protest list has also been formed where thousands of people have signed.
– It is easy to like things that you are used to. Now we are doing something that you may not be quite used to and it will certainly take some time, but then I actually think that you will like this girl too, says Anna Lindqvist, culture and recreation director in Hudiksvall municipality.
“A girl creature from the forest”
The artist Klara Kristalova has described the Hudiksvall girl as a girl creature from the forest, half a tree with an owl on her shoulder and that the bronze statue should stand for joy and pride in the place.
The plan is for the statue to be placed at Kattvikskajen in central Hudiksvall sometime in the spring of 2025.
Despite the protests, there are no plans to stop the city’s new statue.
– No, of course we listen to the protests, but it is important to point out that many are also very positive about the statue. So we continue as planned, says Anna Lindqvist, head of culture and leisure in Huduiksvall municipality.