The Mermaid of Warsaw: Where to Find the City Symbol

Every Warsaw souvenir shop sells her, but the real story is better than the magnets. The Mermaid of Warsaw - the Syrena on the city coat of arms, half woman and half fish, sword raised and shield ready - has guarded the city's identity for centuries, and her most famous statue has stood in the Old Town since 1855.

Hegel's mermaids

According to the City of Warsaw, the first sculptural mermaid was created by Konstanty Hegel, commissioned by the magistrate to crown Henryk Marconi's new waterworks that supplied the Old Town. Cast in soft zinc at the K. J. Minter factory - the largest foundry in the Russian Empire - the 180 cm figure was placed in the middle of the Old Town Market Square in 1855, on the site of the demolished 15th-century Town Hall. Hegel, a veteran of the November Uprising and later professor of sculpture, gave her the posture of a vivacious young woman about to strike - the energetic nature of Warsaw itself, he felt. At the same time, a second mermaid by Hegel crowned the gate leading from Krakowskie Przedmiescie to Karowa Street.

Where to see her today

A mermaid still watches over the Old Town Market Square, the first stop for most visitors. Another famous Syrena stands on the Vistula bank in Powisle near the Swietokrzyski Bridge, and the city seal keeps her image on official Warsaw everywhere from manhole covers to tram stops. The city's Multimedia Fountain Park has even told her legend in light and water.