Case file · Folklore / legend
The Mermaid of Warsaw
A half-human creature with a fish's tail appears on the oldest known seal of Old Warsaw, from 1390, and became the city's emblem, the Syrenka.
1390 CE · 52.25, 21.01 · status: legend
The account
Later folk tales say a mermaid swimming up the Vistula stopped to rest at Warsaw, was captured by a greedy merchant and freed by fishermen, and swore to protect the city, hence her sword and shield. The early images looked more like a dragon-like or bird-like monster; the beautiful mermaid form became standard later.
The sceptical view
The tales were collected or composed long after the seal; the emblem's original meaning is unknown.