The Coat of Arms of Warsaw reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Coat of Arms of Warsaw

The Coat of Arms of Warsaw consists of a syrenka in a red field. Polish syrenka is often rendered siren, but she is more properly a fresh-water mermaid called a "melusina."

Since the second half of the 18th century, the Warsaw Coat of Arms has been rendered as a mermaid with sword and shield in hand, representing the melusina from the River Vistula (Wisla), who in legend led Duke Boleslaus of Mazovia to the appropriate site (a fishing village) and ordered him to found the city, in about 1294. The city's motto is, appropriately, Contemnit procellas ("It defies the storms").

This project has been introduced as the city's Coat of arms in 1938 and was used as an official emblem only until World War II broke out. After 1945 Communist authorities changed the emblem - the crown was cut out. It was re-introduced on August 15, 1990 in it's original form.

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