Warsaw's mermaid

The Mermaid has featured in Warsaw’s coat of arms for many centuries. Between 1811 – 1915, when Poland was partitioned, Warsaw’s emblem was officially banned. Yet the Varsovians increasingly started to place mermaid images in various parts of the city. As a result, Warsaw now boasts a great number of these images displayed in gates, balconies, stained glass windows, on facades, street lamps, neon signs, signboards, and institutional logos. The Warsaw Mermaid also features in many statues, sculptures and reliefs. The Varsowians are emotionally attached to them, which and literature these half-female, half-fish creature are depicted as mermaids while the symbol of Warsaw in Polish is referred to be means of the diminutive syrenka (little mermaid).
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The coat of arms of Warsaw

Warsaw’s first coat of arms, which dates back to the early 15th century, depicted a half-human, half-bird creature carrying a sword and a shields. Its body was covered with scales. Over the years, it was gradually turning into a female, though it still looked like a winged monster with finned legs. It was only in the 18th century that it was replaced by a shapely half-woman half-fish. The current coat of arms was officially approved in 1938. How the image of the Warsaw mermaid evolved over the centuries is shown in the door of St. John’s cathedral in the Old Town.
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