The first mermaid (fish-woman) with a sword and shield first appeared in 1622 as the symbol of Warsaw.  How did a mermaid come to symbolize the city?

The best-known legend, by Artur Oppman, is that Warsaw fishermen caught a mermaid, who sang beautifully, in their net . At the foot of today's Old Town, she left the water to rest on the sandy shore, and she liked the place so much that she decided to stay. The fishermen soon noticed that during their fishing someone was churning the waves of the Vistula, tangling the nets and releasing the fish. But the mermaid enchanted them with her beautiful singing, and they did not harm her. One day a wealthy merchant saw the mermaid and her lovely song. He quickly calculated how much money he could make if he captured the mermaid and displayed her at market fairs. He tricked the mermaid, seized her and imprisoned her in a wooden shed without any water. A young farmhand heard the mermaid's cries, and with the help of friends he freed her at night. Grateful that the townspeople had defended her, the mermaid promised that she would help them in time of need. This is why the Warsaw Mermaid is armed: She bears a sword and a shield to defend the city.
Source: http://www.e-warsaw.pl/2/index.php?id=531

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