Mermaid of Warsaw statue

The monument of the Warsaw mermaid in the Old Town Market Place is a sculpture made of zinc and covered with bronze. It was designed by Konstanty Hegel. The monument depicts a mermaid emerging from frothy waves, with a sword in the raised hand and shield in the second. It's one of the most recognizable Warsaw's monuments and one of the city's hallmarks.

The origin of the statue is related to the construction of the first modern waterworks (designed by Henryk Marconi) in Warsaw in 1851-1855. The monument was the first sculpture of the coat of arms of Warsaw and affected all of the later depictions of the mermaid.

The sculpture survived World War II with a lot of damage. It had to be moved and repaired many times because of frequent acts of vandalism. In 2008 the monument was replaced with an identical copy. The original one was donated to Historical Museum.