The Mermaid of Warsaw
Warsaw's coat of arms shows a mermaid with a sword and shield, who legend says chose to protect the city.
What was reported
The Syrenka, the Mermaid of Warsaw, appears on the city's coat of arms: a woman with a fish's tail holding a sword and shield. In the best-known legend, she swam up the Vistula from the Baltic and stopped to rest near what's now the Old Town.
Fishermen were angry when she tangled their nets, but when they heard her sing, they fell for her. When a merchant captured her, they set her free, and in thanks she promised to defend the city.
Explanations offered
A mermaid-like figure has been Warsaw's symbol since at least the 14th century, though early seals show a creature closer to a dragon with a human upper body. Statues of her stand in the Old Town Market Square and by the river, and she's often called the sister of Copenhagen's Little Mermaid.
- When
- City symbol since the 1300s
- Where
- Old Town, Warsaw, Poland
- Witnesses
- Warsaw tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.