Last year I reported that the City of Luxembourg (which is not just a city, but a country in its own right) was planning a mermaid statue for its 1050th anniversary.
A contest was concluded on February 25th, which selected a contest entry by artist Serge Ecker. The photo on the left is of a miniature model of the sculpture.
The mermaid theme is based on a well-known legend that the mermaid Melusine was the wife of Count Siegfried, who founded Luxembourg in 963.
The Melusine legend exists in a number of versions across Europe, with similar elements. Essentially Melusine marries, but with the stipulation that once a week she must have absolute privacy. She turns into a mermaid every Saturday, and spends the time in a bathtub in complete privacy. One day, her husband can no longer contain his curiosity and spies on his wife while she is bathing, and sees her as a mermaid. At this point, she vanishes forever, although she is occasionally seen in a nearby river.
There is a famous statue in Baden (Austria), in the Undine fountain, based on the story of Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. This story in turn is based partly on the Melusine legend.
Articles in the news media can be accessed below.
http://tuoitrenews.vn/lifestyle/17704/vn-artist-enters-luxembourg-mermaid-sculpture-finale
http://www.wort.lu/en/view/the-winning-mermaid-sculpture-revealed-530c9cdae4b01171e9aa3c7e
