The small town of Rio Verde is set in absolutely gorgeous and stunning beauty, with lush green mountains, roaring waterfalls and converging rivers.   In a lagoon near the Cascade Pailón del Diablo (Devil’s Waterfall) sits a white mermaid on a rock.

This is all pretty much in the center of Ecuador, in an area well known for its natural beauty, exciting hiking and biking trails, a (mostly) slumbering volcano, and of course the many impressive waterfalls on the rivers, which eventually feed into the Amazon.

The rivers are rocky and have strong currents, but the mermaid statue is located in a quiet lagoon, and is one of the attractions for tourists renting small watercraft here.

Scouts are currently out looking for additional photos and more information on this mermaid. If you find yourself in Ecuador near Baños or Rio Verde, bring a camera!

More info on the official page for the Rio Verde mermaid statue.

On the edge of the mountains in Schlosspark (Castle Park) in Weinheim, Germany, you will find one of the Ama mermaid statues by Amaryllis, placed here through the Amaryllis Art for Charity project.

The Amaryllis Art for Charity project was created by Thomas Noor, using the Ama statue created by Amaryllis.   These statues are placed in prominent and beautiful locations near the ocean, and are for sale with approximately one third of the sales price going to a local charity.

There are unique touches to each of the statues, such as the patina chosen, the inscription with the name and the coordinates, and the item at Ama’s feet.

Amaryllis said of the statue:

She left her underwater world to connect with mankind and alert us that we are damaging her environment.  She wants to explain that water is the cradle of life, the ultimate necessity to assure humanity’s own existence.  As she arrives on more and more shorelines, it is our belief that she will gain a louder voice and will help make the point that we must respect her home.

More photos and information are available on the Ama du Parc page.

An update was done to the page about the mermaid statue in Window on the World in Shenzhen, China.  Several excellent photos have been added, including this fabulous photo by Maria N. from Russia.

Shenzhen is just north of Hong Kong, and Window on the World is a park with replicas of over 130 famous building, monuments and statues from across the world.

This near-replica of Edvard Eriksen’s mermaid statue was made part of Windows on the World when it was built about 1994.

See more photos and information at the Shenzhen Little Mermaid Statue page.

The statue of Lorelei sits on a narrow strip of land reaching just over half a mile into the Rhine river from the east bank.  map

Technically Lorelei is probably a water-sprite or a siren more than a mermaid, but the distinctions are somewhat blurry, so I decided to include her here on Mermaids of Earth.   There are a number of Lorelei legends, but in essence it has to do with the dangers of the river in this location, and the murmur made by the river as it sweeps around the 400′ high Lorelei rock formation (in the left background in the photo above).

This is one of the narrowest parts of the Rhine river, and the very strong currents and underground rocks in this section of the river have caused many maritime accidents.  The name Lorelei comes from Old German and Celtic, and means ‘murmuring rock’.   In German literature this gave rise to stories of Lore Lay, a beautiful maiden betrayed by her sweetheart.  Lore Lay falls – or jumps – off the Lorelei Rock.  It is said her voice can still be heard in the murmurs of the river and the rock, and that Lore Lay at times distracts sailors with her voice and her beauty, causing them to have accidents.

The basic story is extremely well known in Germany, and has inspired and become part of ballads, poems, music and songs, as well as operas.  And of course there is the Lorelei statue shown here, as well as the Lorelei Fountain in The Bronx, New York.

The 16′ Lorelei statue was created in bronze by Natascha Alexandrova in 1983, and has become a tourist attraction itself.   The setting is fabulous – the Rhine Valley containing this section of the river – and the Lorelei rock and statue – has exceptional environmental beauty, and has been an immensely popular vacation and tourist location for a very long time.

See more details and images on the official page.

Noted authors Carolyn Turgeon and Brenda Peterson interview each other.  Both have novels with mermaids as their main characters.

Read the article here.

There are a number of cities that have a mermaid statue as an icon or symbol of the city.   This includes the capitals of Denmark, Finland and Poland.

Warsaw, Poland

The Syrenka (mermaid) is the symbol and protector of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. The mermaid has been on the city’s coat-of-arms since the 16th century, and symbols of the mermaid can be found all over the city. The most famous of these is the Syrenka bronze statue created by Konstanty Hegel in 1855, a copy of which is found in Warsaw’s Old Town Market square.

One of the legends of how she came to be there relates that she is the sister of the mermaid in Copenhagen.   One of the sisters swam north to Denmark, while the other swam into the Vistula river, and settled near what is now Warsaw.  She was popular with the humans there for her beautiful singing.

When she was captured by a man wanting to profit from her singing, she was freed by the local people.   In gratitude she promised to protect them if they were ever in danger.

It is interesting to note that the Nazis were unaware of the history and significance of the mermaid statues when they occupied Poland, and while they destroyed or stole many other works of art, they left the mermaids unharmed.  

More info

Helsinki, Finland

In Finland’s capital Helsinki, the Havis Amanda mermaid statue was created by sculptor Ville Vallgren in Paris in 1906, and then placed and unveiled in Helsinki in 1908.

The Havis Amanda is considered an icon of Helsinki and its most important and beautiful piece of art.

The statue depicts the mermaid rising out of the sea on a pedestal of seaweed with four fish at her feet, and symbolizes Helsinki’s rebirth.

Originally the statue was somewhat controversial, but over time it has become extremely popular.

More info

Copenhagen, Denmark

In Denmark’s capital Copenhagen, the world-famous statue of The Little Mermaid has now been there for a century, and is the top tourist attraction in Denmark.

It was created by sculptor Edward Eriksen in 1913, and has become an icon of both Copenhagen and Denmark. It was of course inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Little Mermaid, which also inspired the Disney movie adaptation.

Replicas of the statue have been placed in many locations across the world, including Brazil, Romania, Spain, the United States and China.

More info

Norfolk, Virginia

Another city which has adopted the mermaid as its symbol and icon is Norfolk, Virginia. It started in 1999 as a logo for the city. In 2002 it expanded with the “Mermaids on Parade” project, which since then has placed at least 17 mermaid statues around the city’s downtown area, and many more can be found around the city at large.

The mermaid is also prominent on the city’s website, and has been widely adopted as a sort of mascot for the city, with substantial tourism and commerce resulting.

Beaufort, South Carolina

This town decided in 2006 to decorate and place about town 31 mermaid statues as a Beaufort Art Project.

St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador

The city of St. John’s in Canada has a history with mermaids going back to 1610. In 2006 the city had a “Mermaids in the City” exhibit, featuring a large number of individually decorated mermaids.